Fall On Me
by ParadiseAly
Summary: Aribella Rose just moved all the way from NYC to Vermillion, SD. Can she handle the drastic change? Surely not on her own. Featuring Sam Miller/Paradise Fears. Read and Review.
1. New Student

"Aribella!" My mother called up the stairs.

"Just a second, Mom!" I called as I finished applying my black eyeliner.

I fluffed my straight blonde, "scene" hair and walked out of my bathroom.

I grabbed my bookbag off of the floor and slung it over my shoulder with a grunt. Time to report to Vermillion Public High School, my own personal hell.

I was a big city girl, dammit. I belonged at my old private school in New York City, where all of my friends were.

But no, my dad's job got transferred and we had to pack up and move our perfect little family to Vermillion, South fucking Dakota. Now I would be started my junior year as the new kid, not my idea of fun.

My phone beeped as I walked down the stairs. I pulled it out of my pocket and opened the text message, it was from my boyfriend, Josh. It was a picture of him, my best friend Cailyn, her boyfriend Mark, and Mark's brother Damien.

I smiled and immediately set the picture as my wallpaper. That would be the only thing to get me through today, and the rest of the year.

When I appeared in the kitchen my mother sighed and looked at my outfit. "Really, Aribella? That? On the first day?"

I looked down, examining my purple tights, short black skirt, Taking Back Sunday t-shirt and scuffed motorcycle boots. "What? I toned it down for today."

She shook her head. "Whatever. Get in the car, you're not going to be late on the first day."

"Why?" I scoffed. "It's not like I want to be here anyway."

I got in the car anyway, knowing that fighting was pointless and far too tiring.

My mother drove me to school and walked me into the front office.

"Hello, hello!" The secretary smiled. "How may I help you?"

My mother siled back. "I'm here to enroll my daughter."

"Oh, you must be the one's who called!" The woman clapped.

I rolled my eyes, how can she be so cheerful at 8 a.m.?

Mom handed over my transcript papers and the receptionist entered my info into the computer and filed my papers away.

She pushed a button and something started printing.

She handed me the paper. "Here's your schedule, Ms Rose."

I faked a smile. "Thank you."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" She held her hand out, gesturing to someone behind me. "This will be your guide, the leader of out welcoming committee, Sam."

I cringed. Great, now I get some annoying preppy bitch to show me around and spend all day with me.

I stared at the floor as I turned around.

The first thing I saw was a pair of Vans, and the bottoms of black skinny jeans. I also took note of the fact that he was wearing the same Taking Back Sunday shirt as me.

I raised my eyes slowly. It was a guy. He was tall and skinny, with gorgeous brown eyes, shaggy blonde hair, and those lips...

"Hi." He smiled.

I giggled softly. "Hi."

~!Author'sNote!~ Short first chapter but I like the way it turned out. Tell me what you guys think! xoxo, Aly.


	2. Introduce Yourself

"My name's Sam Miller. Welcome to Vermillion." The guy held out his hand.

I shook it briefly. "I'm Aribella. Thanks."

He smiled. He knew I was nervous.

He looked to the secretary. "I'll show her around now, Mrs. Riley."

I walked out of the office and let Sam lead the way. He had no problem starting conversation, I just had a problem keeping them going.

He was showing me the science hall when he said "Why do I get the feeling that you already don't like me?"

I sighed. "It's not that I don't like you. I just don't know you. And it's way too early. Back in New York, at my old school, class didn't start until 9 a.m."

"When did you get out?" He asked.

"3:15, same as here." I said.

"So you had a whole hour less than us. Lucky girl." He chuckled.

I smiled but didn't say anything else.

"Oh, I really like your shirt, by the way." He grinned.

I actually laughed this time. "Yeah. Yours is pretty cool too."

He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Josh Ramsay's voice. "Have a piece of American dream. Open up and swallow on your knees."

I laughed as Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Nice Marianas Trench ringtone."

"You like Marianas Trench too?" He asked and turned his phone to silent.

"Trencher for life." I smiled.

Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me further down the hall. "Come on, I should probably get you to your first class."

I grinned.

"Wait is your first class, exactly?" Sam asked.

I handed him my schedule and he read it. "We have the exact same schedule. This is good, I don't have to worry about losing you throughout the day."

He pulled me towards the stairs and we walked up together. "Ready for English class?"

"No. I mean, yes. Well, I don't have a choice." I said.

"It'll be fine, I promise. You don't have any issues with public speaking, do you?" He asked.

"Not particularly. Why?" I got a little worried.

"Mrs. Watson will probably want you to introduce yourself to the class." He warned.

"Oh god." My stomach rolled.

"You'll be fine. Just be yourself." He smiled supportively.

"That's what I was worried about." I whispered and he opened the door, squeezed my hand once, and pushed me inside.

Everyone turned to look as and my face went red.

"Hello, there!" Mrs Watson smiled and I handed her my transfer slip.

"Students, this is Aribella Rose. She's a transfer student from New York City. Say hello."

The students muttered hi and I fidgeted with my long sleeves.

"Go on and introduce yourself." Mrs Watson nudged me towards the front of the room and Sam took his seat.

I looked at my classmates and took a deep breath.

"Well. My name's Aribella. As Mrs Watson said, I'm from New York. And uh, I don't really know what to say." I said, regaining some composure as Sam smiled encouragingly.

"Why don't you tell us about you? What are some of your hobbies?" Mrs Watson asked.

"Well, I do a lot of photography in my spare time. I like to sing even though I'm horrible at it. I used to be a cheerleader but I got injured so I can't do that anymore. And I really like playing drums." I said.

"Anything else?" She asked.

I bit my lip, not sure what to say.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Mrs Watson asked.

One preppy looking girl in the front raised her hand.

"Violet?" Mrs Watson called on her.

"Why are you dressed like that?" She asked and a few students laughed.

I looked at my outfit. "Because I like it. Why else would I wear it? I like color and edge, sue me. I don't particularly like your slut ensemble but I wasn't really going to say anything."

Her jaw dropped and she crossed her arms.

I wasn't lying. Her shorts were way too short, and her boobs were nearly falling out of her shirt. She looked like a walking billboard for teen pregnancy.

"Ms Rose!" Mrs Watson gasped. "I don't know what your old school was like but we do not talk like that here."

"Sorry. My old school didn't accept that either, but they also didn't accept blind judgement." I shrugged and took the empty seat next to Sam's.

He winked. "Way to make an impression."


	3. Lunch Time

"What are you doing for lunch?" Sam asked as he materialized out of nowhere.

I gasped and nearly dropped my books. I stared up at him, taking my attention away from my locker.

"You scared the shit out of me." I said and went back to fumbling with the lock that I could not managed to open.

I tried to open it three more times with no luck. "Die!"

"Here. Let me." Sam said. "What's your combination?"

"38-24-18." I whispered.

He spun the dial, clearning it, and put in the numbers.

He pulled the lock and it opened easily.

"I give up." I sighed and threw my books in the locker and slammed it shut.

"You didn't answer my question." Sam mumbled.

"Sorry. What was the question?" I asked.

He ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "What are your plans for lunch?"

"I have none, so far. I mean, I don't know where anything is in this town and you're the only person I know." I shrugged.

"Okay. Come on." He grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hall way.

"So much pulling." I said but followed him.

"I want you to meet my band!" Sam explained.

"Band?" I asked.

"Yeah. Me and my friends have a band." He said vaguely.

"What are you guys called?" I asked.

"Paradise Fears." He smiled.

"I like, totally love that name." I giggled.

Sam stopped suddenly and I crashed into his back.

"Sorry." He muttered.

I peeked around his shoulder and saw a note taped to the front of what must have been his locker. It said "Faggot" in red letters.

Sam just stared at it, not knowing what to do.

I looked around, to see if the bully had lingered to see if his work had done the trick.

I saw a jock standing with a few other boys, staring our way and laughing out loud.

My temper flared, I couldn't stand bullies.

I grabbed the paper and marched down the hall towards the boys and held the paper up to them, "Your work?"

They all laughed.

One of them piped up. "Well look at the way he dresses. It's true."

"Just because someone dresses a certain way doesn't mean shit about them." I spat, crumpling the paper up and throwing it and the boy.

"Oh, look at the new girl." Another laughed. "She's got balls."

"Yeah. A hell of a lot more than you." I said. "There's nothing funny about trying to tear people down for your own personal gain."

They just snickered.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" I shouted. "Grow the fuck up. Stop being immature twats and learn to respect other people."

The unnamed jock grabbed my arm tightly. "Don't talk to me like that, bitch."

Without a second thought I reached out and dug my sharp nails down his face, four lines started to bleed immediatlely.

He let go and held his face.

I picked skin out from under my nails. "Don't fuck with me, or Sam, or anyone."

I walked back to Sam's locker and leaned against the wall. "You okay?"

"Everyday." He muttered. "Everyday it's something new with them."

I touched his arm lightly, not sure of what to say.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

He shook his head slightly. "Don't be. I bring it on myself."

He slammed his locker shut and jogged down the hall.

I was frozen. What was I supposed to do?

Finally, I took off down the hall, sprinting after him.

I saw him running towards the gym and picked up my pace.

He was about to go into the locker room when I grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"You can talk to me." I whispered.

Sam turned to look at me, tears in his eyes.

"Please talk to me." I said.

He nodded and walked me to the parking lot.

We got in his car and sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Sam, I know how you feel." I began. "I got bullied a lot at my old school. Whether it was for the way I dressed, the music I listened to, my grades, you name it. And I started to listen to what people would say. I started to hate myself more than they ever could. But you can't let yourself get to that point, okay. Never let them define you."

He sighed. "Sometimes it's hard. Especially when it shows up as notes taped to your locker."

"I know." I said. "But, I don't think they'll bother you anymore."

"No but now they'll bother you. Especially since you clawed the shit out of Dirk's face." Sam said.

I smiled. "I can take 'em."

He chuckled. "Thank you for that, by the way. I would never have the balls to stand up to them."

"You're welcome." I winked. "And trust me, that was terrifying. They outweighed me by a total of at least 600 pounds."

Sam laughed. "Just go for the nuts, everytime. Or the face scratch, that worked pretty well."

I giggled. "So, are you better now?"

He looked in my eyes. "Yes. Thank you."

I blushed and looked down.

Sam cleared his throat nervously. "So, uh, you wanna go to my house for lunch?"

"Uh, sure." I said.

Sam started the car and drove me to his house.

"Awe, it's so cute." I said when we got out of the car.

It really was cute. Small, white A-frame house with blue shutters and a blue door. The yard was kept in perfect condition and there was a cute little birdbath in the middle of the yard.

He laughed. "Yeah, my mom puts a lot of work into this."

"I bet." I smiled and he pulled me inside.

He gave me a full tour, showing me bedrooms, bathrooms, guest rooms, family rooms, then finally the kitchen.

"What do you want to eat? We probably have it." He said.

"Um. I dunno." I said.

"How does some cheese Pizza Rolls sound?" He asked and held up a box.

"That sounds great." I giggled and he put them on a plate and stuck them in the microwave.

We sat down and the table, more silence.

"Why are we both so awkward?" I asked.

He muttered something I couldn't quite understand.

"What?"

"Nothing." He blushed.

"Oh, just tell me." I encouraged.

"I was going to say because I get nervous around girls like you." He blurted.

I narrowed my eyes. "Girls like me?"

"Gorgeous." He met my eyes.

It was my turn to blush. "Oh."

Before I could react, Sam leaned in and kissed me.


	4. Confrontation

"Sam." I breathed and pulled out of the kiss. "I have a boyfriend."

"I'm sorry." He stood up and played with the zipper on his hoodie nervously.

"To be completely honest, I think he's cheating on me." I said suddenly. "I mean, why wouldn't he? Our relationship was never that good when we were actually together, and now we live half way across the country from each other. Right now, it wouldn't surprise me if he has his tongue down another girl's throat."

I didn't notice the tears that had started rolling down my cheeks until Sam took my face in his hands and wiped them from my cheeks. "Don't cry. Please. I hate it when girls cry."

"I put so much into the relationship. But he never did. He was just, there. But never when I needed him. When I was sad or upset, he was never there. But as soon as he wanted sex, the phone would ring." I said.

Sam frowned. "He doesn't deserve you."

"But god knows I wanted him." I sniffled.

He kissed my forehead then looked me in the eyes. "Listen, it doesn't matter. He doesn't matter. He's out of your life. New town, new start. You don't have to deal with that anymore."

I sniffled again. "You're right."

He smiled. "I know."

I giggled and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for making me feel better."

"Anytime. Anytime." He whispered and held me tight.

"Sam, I appreciate the hugs, but I can't breathe right now." I whispered.

He chuckled and let go. "Sorry."

"It's okay." I giggled.

"We should probably get back to school." He said when he looked at the clock.

He was right, we only had 10 minutes til our next class started.

"I'm guessing you don't have any gym clothes, do you?" Sam asked.

I shook my head. "Nope."

"I'll let you borrow some shorts and a t-shirt." He said and ran to his room.

He came back a few minutes later with a pair of black basketball shorts and a red Vermillion High School t-shirt. "It'll probably be big on you but at least you won't have to skip out on the first day."

"Thanks." I said and folded the clothes into my purse.

Sam pulled me out to the car and we drove back to school, barely making it to class before the bell rang.

"Close call, guys." Mr Bowker, the gym teacher said.

I laughed. "Sorry. Sam was just showing me around."

Mr Bowker nodded. "I'm assuming you won't be dressing today."

"Oh, no. I actually have some clothes." I said.

He looked surprised. "Well, great."

He finished taking attendance and assigned me a locker.

I changed without really talking to any of the other girls in the locker room.

After I put on Sam's clothes, I used a hairtie to tighten the shirt and then walked back into the gym.

I looked for Sam and saw him talking with a group of guys.

I walked over nervously and Sam pulled me into the circle.

"Guys, this is my friend Aribella. She just moved here." He said.

The boys smiled.

"Aribella, this is Cole, Lucas, and Marcus." He said.

Cole was really tall with dark wavy hair and a sweet smile. Lucas was only a few inches taller than me with blonde hair. And Marcus was about the same height as Sam with swoopy blonde hair.

"Hi." I smiled sweetly.

I heard a burst of shrill laughter and looked at where it was coming from.

It was Violet, the slut from my English class, with a group of her friends. They were undoubtedly mocking me.

I rolled my eyes are turned my attention back to the guys.

"Already have an enemy, huh?" Lucas asked.

I laughed. "Yeah, kind of."

"More than one." Sam said. "Violet and her clones, as well as Dirk, Kyle, Mark, and Phillip."

"Are you trying to make friends and failing epically?" Marcus joked.

"Nope. I'm just setting up my new group of haters." I giggled.

The boys laughed.

"It's probably not in your best interest to make enemies with Violet." Cole said. "She's a little bit psycho."

"She probably doesn't like the fact that you're hanging around Sam either." Lucas pointed out.

I looked up at Sam. "What does he mean by that?"

"Violet's my ex. And Cole's right, she's a psycho." He said.

I bit my lip. Now I know why she immediately hated me.

"Ugh. I hate jealous bitches." I groaned.

"You can take her." Sam smiled and turned to the guys. "She's the only who scratched Dirk's face."

The guys high-fived me. "Way to go, new girl!"

I was smiling and getting along really well with the guys who were in Sam's band when I saw Violet march over to our group.

"Oh joy." I said and turned toward her.

"Aribella, right?" Violet asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"You hurt my boyfriend." She said.

"Dirk? He's your boyfriend?" I asked.

She nodded once.

I laughed. "You went from this," I gestured to Sam. "To Dirk?"

Her jaw dropped.

"No wonder you're such a bitch." I laughed again.

She stared me down, or at least tried.

I took a step closer. "Honey, you won't win at this."

She scoffed. "Did I invite you to my barbeque?"

I squinted. "Uh, no."

"Then why are you all up in my grill?" She smirked.

Her clones laughed.

I looked at the guys, "Is this bitch serious?"

They nodded.

I smirked. "Well, Violet. Are you a calendar?"

"No." She said.

"Well your days are numbered." I smiled smugly.

Her jaw dropped, I'd rendered her speechless.

One of the clones grabbed her arm and tugged her away.

I turned back to the boys and they grinned.

"What?" I laughed.

"You. Are. Amazing." Marcus laughed.

"Thanks." I smiled. I was so happy, for the first time in my life, I had a group where I could be myself and I actually fit in.

Who knew this would happen in Vermillion, South Dakota?

But then again, who would know I would be falling so hard for Sam Miller?

~!Author'sNote!~ I love you guys for reading this, seriously. You make my life. Review please. xoxo, Aly.


	5. Make Them Jealous

~!Author'sNote!~ Two chapters, one day. I go hard. Enjoy, guys. And review, pretty please. They make me smile and when I smile, I update faster. Just keep that in mind. xoxo, Aly.

"Too much!" Lucas groaned as we made our seventh lap around the track.

Sam and I smiled, we were doing fine. We were both track kids.

The others, however, were not.

"You can do it, Lou. We're halfway done." I said.

He groaned again, slowing down even more.

I turned around and ran backwards. "Guys, come on, you can do this. I know you can! What's it gonna take to get you to keep going?"

"For you to turn back around. Your ass is the only thing keeping me going." Marcus said.

I smacked his arm.

"I'm kidding." He laughed. "It does help though."

I laughed and turned around, smacked my butt, and took off sprinting.

Sam caught up with me easily.

"Sorry about that. Marcus is a perv." He said.

I shrugged. "I don't mind. It's actually pretty funny."

"So, you did track at your old school?" Sam asked.

I nodded. "Yep. I ran the 4x100 hurdles and 1x1600."

"Nice." Sam said.

We ran in silence, clearing four more laps before taking a break.

We caught up with the guys who were walking at this point.

Lou was holding is side and wheezing.

"Hands on your head, deep breath." I told him.

He followed my orders.

"How can you do this?" Cole said.

I shrugged. "It's just easy for me."

"How is it easy?" He asked.

"Years of running from the cops. I robbed a few banks back in New York. Stole some diamonds from a jewelry store." I laughed.

"Is that why you moved here?" Sam asked. "You're on the lamb?"

I smiled. "Exactly."

"Criminal." Marcus laughed.

I heard Mr Bowker blow his whistle, signaling that it was time to head inside and get dressed.

This time, Lucas was more than willing to run. He wanted nothing more than to get out of gym.

I laughed and we jogged inside.

I went into the locker room and opened my locker.

I got dressed and put Sam's clothes in my locker. I shut it and locked it.

When I turned around, Violet was standing there.

"Jesus." I jumped slightly.

"What do you want, Violet?" I asked.

"He's a heartbreaker. Just so you know." She said.

I squinted. "I'm sorry?"

"Sam. He's a jerk." She walked away without another word.

"Okayyy." I muttered and slung my purse over my shoulder and walked into the hallway.

Sam was waiting for me. "One more class."

I sighed in relief. "It's almost over. Thank God."

We walked into pre-calc together and took seats at the back of the room.

I also found out that Mr Bowker taught not only gym, but advanced math classes as well.

The class passed in a blur. We were studying things I'd already done back in New York.

I was about to pass out when Sam nudged me.

I glared at him.

"Trust me, you don't want to sleep in his class." He whispered.

"Thanks." I said and shook my head to wake myself up.

I pulled out my cell phone and texted my mom. "Don't worry about picking me up. I'm gonna hang out with some of the friends I made and maybe go for a walk."

She replied a minute later. "Okay, honey. Have fun."

"Yay." I whispered to myself.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I'm free for tonight." I smiled.

"Good, because you're going to hang out with me because I have nothing to do." He said, not giving me a choice.

I laughed. "I dunno. I have a lot of people who want to hang out with me."

"Oh yeah. I forgot you're going to hang out with your new best friend, Violet." He smiled.

"Totes." I flipped my hair like I'd seen Violet do at least 100 times.

The bell rang and we gathered our books.

"You want me to open your locker again?" Sam offered.

"Please?" I said.

Sam opened my locker and waited for me to exchange my books for my Prada bag.

I shut the door and then followed Sam to his locker, praying that there wouldn't be another note.

There was, however. The same thing that was there at lunch.

"Not again." Sam muttered.

I grabbed the note and threw it in the trash can. "Fucking bullshit."

I took off down the hall looking for Dirk and his jocks.

I spotted him at the opposite end of the hall, next to Violet's locker.

He smirked when he saw me walking up. I smirked when I saw his scarred cheek.

"Find your little buddy's note?" He asked.

I slapped him across the face hard. "I told you not to fuck with Sam."

He grabbed my arm the same way he had before.

Before he could open his mouth to speak, I slapped him again.

His hand moved to my throat, it wasn't tight, but it was there.

I grabbed a handful of his hair and ripped.

He let go and held the spot on his head where the hair was missing.

"I'll reiterate since apparently you were too dim to comprehend it the first time. Do not fuck with me or Sam." I rolled his hair into a ball and tucked it into the pocket of his varsity jacket. "Do you understand now, Dirk?"

"I'll make your life a living hell." He threatened.

"Haha. Have fun with that. Dicks like you don't bother me anymore. And I would say I would make your life miserable, but look who you're dating." I strutted away, the entire hallway was silent and everyone was staring at me.

I walked up to Sam and he draped his arm around my shoulders. "You can't keep fighting my battles."

"Well, shit got personal. So they're my battles too." I said and wrapped my arm around his waist.

He leaned down and whispered, "Everyone's so jealous right now."

I looked around and giggled. It was true. Girls were jealous of me, guys were jealous of Sam. It was like a dream.

"Let's make them more jealous." I whispered and kissed him.

After a few seconds, Sam pulled away.

"Everyone's going to hate you." He said.

I smiled. "Good."


	6. Bruised

(Sam's POV)

"You drove her home, didn't you?" Marcus smiled as I got out of the car.

"I couldn't make her walk." I said and let him into the house.

"What'd you guys do?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing. We watched a few movies, listened to music, just hung out."

Marcus grinned. "Scary movies? Cuddling?"

"We watched Nemo." I said.

"You said a few movies. What else did you watch?" He asked.

"The Messengers." I shrugged.

"Scary movie! I knew it!" He punched the air.

I rolled my eyes. "You know what... We didn't do anything. We didn't make out, or get fresh or whatever you had in mind. Okay? I held her. It's really as simple as that. She sat next to me, with her head on my shoulder and my arms around her waist."

Marcus smiled again and added in a sing-song voice, "You looove her."

"If you don't shut up, I will kick you out of my house." I said. "I've done it before. I'll do it again."

"What's wrong, man?" Marcus said, all business now. "What happened?"

"Violet and Dirk are already making this place hell for her." I ran a shaky hand through my hair. "When I took her home, there were windows busted out, the garage was tagged, car tires were slashed, the works."

"What'd she do?" He asked.

I sighed heavily. "Started crying. She felt bad. She felt like it was her fault."

Marcus opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by someone banging on the door.

I ran and opened it.

"Ari, what are you doing? I just took you home." I said.

"Mom's pissed. She thinks this is all my fault." She sniffled and pulled her jacket tighter around her.

"Do you need a place to stay?" I asked.

She nodded. "I'm sorry. I just had no where else to go."

"It's okay." I let her inside.

"Hi, Marcus." She waved half-heartedly.

He hugged her quickly. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." She hugged him back.

She slid her jacket off and I noticed the bruises on her arms.

"What are these from?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Running into things, falling. I'm clumsy."

I could tell by the look in her eyes and the strain in her voice that it wasn't true. I also knew because I'd seen this girl walk, and she's one of the most graceful people I've ever seen.

"Ari, what happened?" I said.

She shook her head again. "It's nothing. Honestly, Sam."

I let it go for now. I could tell I wasn't going to get it out of her tonight.

But I would soon. If she's getting hurt, I'm getting to the bottom of it.

~!Author'sNote!~ Sorry this one's so short. But I'll make it for it by getting up the next chapter as soon as possible. Please review. Btw, Sadie, I saw your review, I love you. You're going in my story. Also, if anyone else wants to be included, just let me know. And make sure I know your real name and inbox me some info about you. Oh, and if you has a specific love interest in mind, let me know. Just not Sam, he belongs to Aribella. Review! xoxo, Aly


	7. Book Fort

(Aribella's POV)

"Ari, wake up." Sam said and pinched my sides.

I wiggled away and snuggled deeper into the pillow. "Five more minutes."

"I already gave you five more minutes, twice." He said and pulled me out of bed.

I groaned. "Sam, put me down."

He sat me on my feet and I sighed.

"Shower's free, so you can get ready." He said.

I dragged my feet all the way to the bathroom.

I peeled off the clothes that I had shoved into my bag before running to Sam's the previous night.

When I got in the shower, the hot water helped relax my tense, aching muscles.

I didn't take too long to shower, only ten minutes. Then I got out, dried and straightened my hair, did my make-up, and pulled on my extra change of clothes.

I looked in the mirror, my blue eyes looked bright from the layers of black eyeliner that I applied and my lips were plump. My outfit was cute too: light blue skinny jeans, black Mayday Parade t-shirt, and black and blue Osirises.

I hurried back to the bedroom to grab my bookbag before heading downstairs where Sam was waiting.

"Ready for day two?" He asked.

"Yup." I said and we got in the car.

The car ride to school was short and silent.

When we got out of the car, Marcus came running over with a girl I didn't know trailing behind him.

She was super pretty with Hayley Williams red hair that fell halfway down her back, and straight bangs. Her eyes were ocean blue and framed by thick, dark lashes. She was short, even shorter than me, reaching a height of maybe 5'2" and she was so skinny that I felt like a whale. But, I could still tell that this girl was strong, with toned muscles, most likely from cheer, gymnastics, or dance.

"Aribella! I want you to meet my friend!" Marcus yelled.

"Okay." I giggled.

He pulled the girl up next to me. "This is Jacey Tyler. Jacey, this Aribella Rose."

"Hi." I grinned and held my hand out.

She didn't shake it though, she just jumped right at me.

"Heyy!" She squealed and I hugged her back.

"I love you already!" I laughed as we separated.

This girl was great. Her style mimicked mine. She wore bright purple skinny jeans, a black All Time Low t-shirt, and black converse.

"So, why did I not meet you yesterday?" I asked

"Oh, I was sick." Jacey said, still smiling.

"Well, I'm glad you're here today. God knows I could use some more friends." I laughed and we hooked arms as we walked toward the building.

I found out Jacey was in my English class, which was really awesome.

When we walked into class she smiled at Violet and her clones. She smiled at everyone actually.

_Oh, she's one of those super friendly people... _I thought to myself. _Awesome._

I loved people like that, the people who never have enemies because it's impossible to hate them. That was Jacey. I'd known her for a total of five minutes but it was blatantly obvious.

The first bell rang and Jacey took the seat behind me.

"So, tell me about you." I said. "What's your story?"

"Well." Jacey took a deep breath. "I've lived here my whole life, and Sam and the boys have been my besties for like, seven years. Um, I'm super outgoing, as you already experienced. I'm super loud and stuff. Dancing is the only thing that really matters to me anymore, especially after my mom passed away. I don't really want to go into that but I was ten, she had breast cancer, end of story. I have one older brother, he's 22 so I never see him. But, I'm lucky enough to still have my father. And my besties of course."

"Wow. First of all, I'm really sorry about your mom. And the dance thing, I get it. I was the same way with cheer before my injury." I said. "It's so awesome that you guys have been friends that long. I mean, like, insane but awesome."

The final bell rang and everyone fell silent, except for Jacey.

"Jacey, quiet." Mrs Watson ordered.

She just giggled.

She leaned forward and whispered "Wait for it..."

I didn't know what she was talking about, but I waited.

The phone rang and Mrs Watson answered.

After a second, she hung up and left the room.

I looked at Jacey. "How did you know that would happen?"

"Every Tuesday." She grinned at me and Sam and ran to the whiteboard.

She picked up a bright red marker and drew a huge penis.

I laughed out loud, especially when she signed her name underneath it.

"Oh my god. I love you." I laughed when she skipped back to her seat.

Mrs Watson came back into the room and she hurried to the board and started erasing as fast as she could.

When the penis was gone she glared at Jacey. "One hour after school."

Mrs Watson filled out a dentention slip and handed it to Jacey who was unphased by the punishment.

Jacey held her hand up for a high-five and I gave her one.

"Were you in on this?" Mrs Watson asked me.

I smirked. "Sure was."

Mrs Watson in turn filled out a detention slip for me.

Jacey and I high-fived again. "Detention buddies!"

(After school, in detention)

Detention was held in the media center at 3:25.

Jacey and I showed up at 3:45 and the teacher running detention didn't care. As soon as we showed up, he left.

"So, what do we do until 4:30?" I asked.

"Let's make a book fort!" Jacey said.

"Yes!" I laughed and we started grabbing armfulls of books off the shelves.

We built a castle of books and sat inside, talking about the most random things. Mainly just making up weird stories about unicorns and shit.

"What the-?" The teacher said when he came back in.

Me and Jacey burst out laughed.

"Just go home." The teacher said. "Just go."

We crawled out of our fort and grabbed our bookbags.

As we walked out of the building, Jacey jumped on my back and yelled "Piggyback ride!"

I laughed and held her up as we walked to Sam's house.

It was a few miles but Jacey didn't weigh more than 90 pounds so carrying her was no problem.

When we got there, she hopped off my back and knocked on the door.

Sam opened it and pulled us inside.

"Hey." I smiled up at him as he pulled me into his arms.

He planted a soft kiss on my lips and I smiled.

I heard Jacey shuffle out of the room to give us some privacy.

When I pulled out of the kiss, Sam stared into my eyes. "Are you gonna tell me what those bruises are really from?"

I sighed. "Tonight. I promise."

I figured if I could trust anyone, it would be Sam.

The thought of telling was scary, I'd kept it a secret for years. No one knew about my father and the physical abuse he punished me with.

~!Author'sNote!~ New character thanks to FallenAngel211! You did awesome with the detail in your message, girl, honestly. So, what did you guys think of the new chapter? Did you like it? I liked it. Reviews please! You guys are awesome, btw. My Paradise Fears story now has more hits than my All Time Low story, and that's baller. haha. Thanks so much for reading! xoxo, Aly.


	8. The Girl On The Phone

"Rachellllll!" Jacey said into her phone.

"Carlin?" Sam asked her.

Jacey nodded and put the phone on speaker.

"Hey, Rachel!" Sam said. "What's up?"

"Sammy!" The girl on the phone shouted. "Heyy. Oh my gosh, I'm on my way back!"

"Finally!" Jacey and Sam chorused.

I was sitting on the couch beside Sam when suddenly Jacey had recieved a phone call.

All I knew was that it was a girl named Rachel that they knew. I hadn't heard of her, but she seemed cheerful and outgoing, much like Jacey.

"I'll be back tomorrow." Rachel said.

Sam and Jacey high-fived.

"You can meet my new girlfriend!" Sam said and squeezed my hand.

I blushed.

"Girlfriend?" Rachel asked, sounding protective.

"Yeah. Her name's Aribella, she's new here. But she's great. You'll love her." Sam said.

Jacey smiled. "Totally. I hung out with her allllllll day. We had detention together, and we made a book fort. It was awesome!"

Rachel sighed heavily. "Well, we'll see what happens at school tomorrow."

Sam bit his lip semi-nervously, Jacey even seemed a bit frazzled.

"Sorry." Rachel said after a moment of silence. "I just... Ever since Violet..."

Sam nodded. "I know. Just don't scare her."

Rachel giggled. "I'll try."

They said their goodbyes and Jacey hung up the phone.

"So, uh..." I began. "Who was that?"

"That was our bestest friend, Rachel Carlin. We call her Ronnie. And she's the best! She's almost as random and awesome as me!" Jacey said.

I laughed. "Well she must be pretty awesome then."

"She is." Sam nodded. "She's like my little sister. I love her to death. She's super protective though. She nearly killed Violet when we broke up."

"Oh." I said. "So, it's like you're a teenage girl and Rachel is your older brother?"

"Yeah. Kind of like that." Sam laughed.

"I can't wait to meet her." I grinned. "She's sounds pretty cool. And I think we could get along really well..."

Sam smiled. "I sure hope so."

~!Author'sNote!~ Yippee! Another chapter so soon. I just freaking love writing this. Another thanks to FallenAngel211! She creates the bestest characters ever. (You have her to thank for Jacey and Rachel.) Go check her out because I love her already! But, yeah, stuff's happening... I feel like I'm getting the flow of the story. Review! xoxo, Aly


	9. Oh My God

(Aribella's POV)

I was laying in bed in the guest room at Sam's house when he knocked on the door.

"Come in." I called.

Sam walked in and sat down on the bed next to me. "So, can we talk?"

"About what?" I asked.

"The bruises." He said.

I sat up and hugged my knees to my chest. "You have to promise to never speak of it again."

"I promise." Sam whispered.

I took a deep breath. "The bruises aren't from me being clumsy or anything like that. They're, um, they're from my dad. He gets pissed off at me because I never do anything right, and he hits me."

Sam inhaled and exhaled slowly, he was furious.

"I know, I know. It's bad. But there's nothing I can do." I said.

He was shaking, literally shaking because he was so angry.

"Sam, please calm down." I whispered and took his hand.

He tried to compose himself and finally managed to after a few minutes.

"Why don't you fight back?" He asked. "You fought back against Dirk. Why not your dad?"

"I dunno." I muttered. "I guess because he's my dad. I'm supposed to care about him no matter what."

"Who cares? He hits you, Ari. You shouldn't put up with that." He said.

"I know." I breathed, tears spilling down my cheeks.

Sam pulled me onto his lap. "Don't cry. Please don't cry."

I sobbed into his chest. "I can't help it. I hold all of this in for so long and it's just horrible. I can't handle it anymore."

He rubbed soothing circles on my back and kissed the top of my head. "It'll be okay, I promise. I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

"Thank you." I whispered and wiped my tears away.

I looked up and noticed that Sam had tears in his eyes.

I took his face in my hands and kissed him.

The way his lips felt against mine was unreal, and the way he tasted... Don't even get me started.

I shifted so that I was straddling him and he leaned back on the bed.

His hands moved up and down my sides as his tongue found its way into my mouth.

I groaned softly and pressed my hips tightly against his.

Sam ran his hands up underneath my shirt, his palms hot against my bare skin.

"Can I?" He asked as he tugged at the hem of my t-shirt.

"Yes." I whispered and he tore the shirt over my head and threw it to the floor.

(The Next Morning)

Sunlight streaming through the window jarred me from my sleep.

I squinted at the clock on the bedside table. 5:50 a.m.

Then I looked down and saw Sam laying beside me.

"What the fuck?" I muttered and lifted the sheets, naked, both of us.

"Oh my god." I buried my face in my hands. "Oh my god. Oh my god."

Sam stirred beside me and I pulled the sheets tighter around me.

Sam's eyes flew open and he looked around, taking note of the clothes strewn about the room.

"Oh my god." He rubbed his eyes.

"Yep." I muttered.

Sam sat up beside me. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." I shook my head. "It was my choice and I did it."

I excused myself to go take a shower.

I stood under the hot water and cried for a few minutes.

"Stupid little bitch." I muttered when I stepped out.

My reflection in the mirror glared back at me. "Stupid."

I got dressed in black skinny jeans, black converse, and a black Blood On The Dancefloor shirt. Who gives a fuck about how I look? I thought as I applied a few coats of black eyeliner and walked out of the bathroom.

Sam went to take his shower and I sat on the bed, not sure what to do.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Jacey's number.

She answered on the second ring. "Hey, girl!"

"Jacey, I need to talk to you." I said.

"What's wrong, honey?" She said, the first time I've ever heard her be serious.

"Me and Sam had sex last night." I bit my lip and forced back tears.

"Oh. Um. Oh." She didn't know what to say.

"I feel like such a slut." I said and fell back on the pillows.

"You're not. You're not a slut. You just went a little too fast. It happens sometimes. But, if you guys are meant to be, it will work out." She said with a soft, encouraging tone.

I smiled softly. "Thank you, Jacey."

I could nearly hear her smile. "No problem, Aribella."

"I gotta go, Sam just got out of the shower." I said quickly.

"Okay. See you at school!" She giggled.

"Bye." I smiled and we hung up.

I took a deep breath when Sam walked back into the room.

"Ready?" He asked, zipping up his hoodie.

I nodded and climbed off the bed.

He pulled me into his arms and I hugged him.

"Ready to meet Rachel?" He smiled softly.

I nodded. "I think so. Don't let her hurt me."

~!Author'sNote!~ I don't really have much to say for this. I just hope you like it. Review, please xoxo, Aly.


	10. Another Hustler

"Aribella!" Jacey screamed as soon as I got out of Sam's car.

We ran toward each other and hugged tightly.

"I can't believe what I did, Jacey. I really can't." I whispered.

"I know." She squeezed me. "But it'll be okay. Promise."

"Thanks." I said and we separated.

We smiled and Sam slid one arm around my waist.

I snuggled into his side, it was cold today.

Marcus snuck up behind Jacey and pinched her sides.

She jumped and squealed. "Oh my goshh!"

We all laughed and she smacked Marcus's chest playfully. "You scared me so much."

"I'm sorry." Marcus hugged her tightly.

She giggled. "You better be."

"Let's go to class, guys." I hooked my arm through Jacey and she grabbed Marcus's hand as we marched through the front doors.

There was a girl who appeared to be waiting for our group.

She was about my height, with long brown hair and cute blonde highlights, pretty hazel eyes, and crazy white teeth.

"Ronnie!" Jacey screamed and ran to her.

They jumped on each other and hugged for a whole minute.

"That's Rachel. We call her Ronnie. She's the one who's like my sister." Sam explained.

I nodded and Ronnie came over to give Sam and Marcus hugs.

"You must be Aribella." She said to me.

I nodded. "Yep, that's me."

"And you're dating Sammy?" Ronnie asked.

I nodded again. "Yes. I'm proud to say that."

She smiled warmly. "You don't seem like a bad girl."

"Thanks?" I tried to smile.

"Don't worry, kid. I don't bite." She nudged me.

Jacey giggled. "Liar. You bit me that one time I stole one of your Doritos."

"Well, yeah. If you steal my Doritos, I'll take your ass down." Ronnie warned.

I laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." She smiled and our group fell into step as we walked down the nearly empty halls, we were super early today.

"Oh my gosh." I said. "Ronnie, I totally love your shirt! Like, you don't even know."

She glanced down at her All Time Low "unicorn poop" t-shirt. "Oh, thanks. You like All Time Low?"

"Like them? I absolutely adore them. No, scratch that. I'm like pretty much obsessed with them." I admitted.

"Yay! Another Hustler!" We high-fived.

She leaned towards Sam and I heard her whisper, "I approve!"

~!Author'sNote!~ Woot. Another chapter. I'm like, a beast at updating right now. Y'all love me, i just know it. Keep the reviews coming. I love to know what you think. xoxo, Aly.


	11. Secrets

"So, Ari." Sam said as we sat down at our full lunch table. "Since you didn't get to meet the rest of my band, here they are."

I smiled at the boys.

Sam introduced Michael, he had a faux-hawk which threw me off at first but it actually worked for him and he was actually kind of adorable. Then there was Jordan, he was pretty muscular but had pretty brown eyes, curly brown hair, and a sweet smile.

I shook their hands and sat down.

I crossed my legs and leaned back in my chair.

Jacey sat beside me, she wasn't eating either, and her body language mimicked mine.

"You sure you're not hungry?" Sam asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine."

It was a total lie. I was starving. But, I'd already had 150 calories and the day was barely half over. The other 350 calories that I would allow myself were reserved for the dinner that I would be forced to eat at home.

Jacey and I sat there, disgusted as the boys and Ronnie stuffed themselves with loads of fattening foods but didn't gain a single ounce. We were the unlucky girls whose thighs exploded if they so much as nibbled on a corn chip.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I stared up at him, "Yeah, why?"

"Because it's time for class. Didn't you hear the bell?" He said.

I shook my head. "I guess I spaced out."

Wow, I'd never done that before. I've lost a few minutes at a time but never had I lost an entire hour.

"Well, let's head to gym." He held his hand out and I took it.

We walked to gym together and I went to the girls' locker room to get dressed.

I dressed in a haze, not really knowing what was going on around me.

Today, I ran with Lucas instead of Sam. I just couldn't keep up with him, I was so damn tired.

"So, what's been going on with you today?" Lucas asked as we slowed down to walk one of the curves on the track.

I shook my head. "Just tired. Out of it, I guess."

"You sure you're okay? I mean, we totally lost you at lunch." He said.

I shrugged. "I dunno. Sometimes I just space out."

"You can tell me." He said. "If you don't want me to tell Sam, I won't."

I took a deep breath. "Do you promise?"

"Yes, of course." Lucas nodded.

I placed a hand on my flat stomach. "Lou, I'm anorexic."

~!Author'sNote!~ Again, not much to say for this. But still, I'm updating like a boss. haha. Review, pretty please! xoxo, Aly.


	12. Naptime In Biology

(Cole's POV)

I stood at my locker, staring at the text I'd just recieved from Sam. "Something's up with Ari. We gotta find out."

I tucked my phone into my pocket and pulled out my biology book and shut the locker door.

Becca was standing behind the door waiting for me.

I jumped. "Damn, Becca. Don't do that."

She giggled. "Sorry. I wanted to try scaring you."

"Well, it worked." I smiled and wrapped my arm around her tiny waist.

She looked beautiful today, as always. Her long brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail and her outfit was flattering but not skanky. Her denim skirt was short but it didn't break the fingertip rule and her "I HEART STARBUCKS!" shirt was lowcut but not too low.

The black ankle boots seemed a bit out of place but it worked for her. And it's not like Becca really cared about what anyone thought about her. Or what they said about her, unless they called her Becky. If they called her Becky, she kicked their asses.

"Cole!" Aribella shouted from behind me.

I turned and saw her running toward us. "Hi."

"Wait for me. I don't want to walk to biology alone. I might get lost again." She said and smiled at Becca. "Um, hello."

"Ari, this is my girlfriend, Becca. Becca, this is Sam's girlfriend Ari." Cole introduced us.

"Hi." Becca waved.

Ari smiled and waved back.

"Girl!" Jacey was the next to come sprinting down the hallway at us.

She jumped right on Ari's back and Ari's walk didn't falter even though a 90 pound girl just hurled herself on top of her.

"Jacey, people think we're crazy." Aribella laughed as people stared.

"Who cares?" Jacey laughed. "We're awesome!"

Becca smiled. "I want in on this!"

She hopped on Jacey's back and Ari grunted. "Oh my god, I'm carrying like 200 hundred pounds of people."

"You're so buff." I said and took her books for her.

Sam came running up behind me and jumped on my back. "Cole. Let's be girly!"

"Oh my god. What's wrong with my friends?" I laughed.

When we got to the stairs, Ari paused. "Oh god."

"We're going down, you can make it." I said.

She took a step down carefully. "I can do this."

She made it down the stairs carefully but she was getting tired.

"Guys, how are we gonna make it through the door?" She asked when we reached the biology room.

"Squat!" Becca ordered.

Ari did, which surprised me. She was really strong.

They made it through the door and Becca jumped down, then Jacey.

Aribella stood up straight. "I think I dislocated something."

"You'll be okay." Jacey said.

When we all sat down, Aribella immediately put her head down and went to sleep.

And before Sam and I knew it, Becca and Jacey were out too.

"What the hell?" He said.

I shrugged.

We decided to put our heads down and sleep too.

(Sam'sPOV)

I woke up when the bell rang, signaling the end of class and the end of the day.

I stood up and stretched.

Aribella was still asleep.

I tried to shake her awake but she refused to wake up.

"Jacey, can you take her books?" I asked.

Jacey nodded and took the books.

I lifted Aribella out of her seat and carried her out to the car.

I put her in the backseat and Jacey helped strap her in.

"I'll sit with her back here." Jacey strapped herself in and I got in the car and started it.

Ari was still asleep when we got to my house.

Jacey lifted her out of the backseat and insisted on carrying her.

She tucked Aribella into bed in the guest bedroom and we sat down to work on homework together.

"So, um, what's up with her?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Jacey asked.

"She's out of it, really out of it. And she didn't eat lunch. Or breakfast. Or supper last night." I explained.

Jacey shrugged and bit her lip.

She knew what was going on, she just refused to tell me.

Was it really that bad?

~!Author'sNote!~ All I want to say is I LOVE YOU FOR READING MY STORIES! haha. But seriously, thank you guys so much. It means so much that you guys like my stories. And the reviews are the best thing ever! xoxo, Aly.


	13. What Is Wrong With Me?

~!Author'sNote!~ YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! I adore you all! Enjoy the chapter! xoxo, Aly.

(Aribella's POV)

What's going on? I wondered as I sat up in bed.

I looked at the clock on the bedside table, 7:32 p.m.

I forced myself out of bed and ambled into the kitchen.

Sam and jacey were working on homework, there were books and papers strewn all across the kitchen table.

"Hi." I muttered when I walked in.

Their heads snapped up to look me.

Sam jumped up and gave me a hug. "How do you feel? Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Just tired. And weak."

"Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not hungry."

Jacey smiled encouragingly and mouthed, "Stay strong!"

I grinned and sat down beside her.

"So, what have you guys been doing?" I yawned.

"Biology and pre-calc." Sam said and opened the fridge.

He set three bottles of water down on the table for us.

I grabbed one and took a long drink.

"So, have you figured out this genetics thing yet?" Sam asked Jacey.

"Nope. I don't have a clue how to do it." She said.

I sighed. "Guys, the entire thing revolves around probability. It's actually painfully easy."

"Probability? We spent 2 hours working on something that is just about probability?" Sam groaned.

"Fuck my life." Jacey sighed.

"Give me your paper." I said and Sam handed me the worksheet.

I grabbed a pencil and started filling in the right answers and then Jacey copied them down onto her paper.

"I love you!" She shouted and grabbed my face.

She kissed my cheek and I laughed.

"Honestly, I adore you!" She smiled.

I grinned. "I love you too, Jacey."

"Yay!" She cheered and I laughed harder.

_Your thighs were made for cheeks to graze! _My phone sang and I pulled it out of my pocket.

"Awesome!" Jacey said, obviously loving my Asking Alexandria ringtone.

I answered the phone without checking the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hey, babe!" Josh said.

I excused myself and walked into the bedroom. "Josh, I told you I was done."

"Bells, please." He said, using his nickname for me.

"I can't, Josh." I bit my lip and willed the tears to go away.

"Why?" He asked.

"I just can't." I whispered.

I could almost hear his frown. "I love you, Aribella Tayson Rose. You know that, right?"

I bit my lip again. "I love you too, Joshua. But I really can't. Not now, not ever."

"Is it another guy?" He asked.

"Yes. I'm so sorry." I sobbed.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"His name is Sam Miller." I said.

He sighed. "I guess it makes sense. You're so far away. Of course you would find someone better. I was always such a jerk to you. I should've treated you better."

"You didn't know what you were doing, Josh. It wasn't your fault." I whispered.

"I love you, Bells. I'm sorry. And I hope maybe, one day, you'll come back, and we can be together again." Josh said.

"Maybe one day."

"Bye, Hell's Bells." I imagined him smiling softly.

"Bye, Joshua." I hung up.

I flopped back onto the bed. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"

~!Author'sNote!~ Love triangle! What now, bitches? lol. Reviewwww! xoxo, Aly.


	14. Having The Flu

(Aribella's POV)

"Jacey, I think I'm dying." I said into my phone.

"You're not dying. You're just sick." She said.

"Nope. This is death. I have the fucking black plague."

Jacey snorted. "No. You have the flu. There is a difference."

"I could still die." I pulled my knees to my chest and tried to force away another wave of nausea.

"But you won't."

"Hold on!" I said and dropped my phone on the tile floor.

I leaned forward and threw up noisily into the toilet. I flushed and got up to rinse my mouth out with water.

I sat down and picked up the phone again. "I'm dying."

Jacey sighed. "Do you want me to bring you anything? Like, something for your stomach? Or some soup?"

"That would pointless, I would just throw it back up." I groaned. "But thanks anyways."

"What's Sam doing? Is he taking care of you?" Jacey asked.

"He's sick too." I said.

"Oh, awesome." Jacey said sarcastically.

"I know, right?" My stomach rolled and I threw up again.

"Fuck!" I nearly screamed.

"Are you alright?" Jacey asked, sounding panicked.

"I throw up every two minutes." I frowned.

Jacey sighed. "That's it. I'm coming over. Me, Becca, and Ronnie will take care of you guys."

I frowned again. Why was she so worried? It was just the flu. I didn't need to be babied, I'd taken care of myself while I was sick plenty of times before. "No, Jacey. Don't. I don't want you guys to get sick."

"Nope. We're on the way." She said and hung up.

"Damn." I tossed my phone to the floor and threw up again.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang and I trudged downstairs to open it.

Becca walked in with a paper bag, with some cups of soup in it. The smell was enough to turn my stomach and I ran back to the bathroom.

Jacey was right behind me.

She rubbed my back soothingly. "Awe, honey. You'll be okay."

She helped me up so I could rinse my mouth once more.

"Are you alright, Aribella?" Ronnie asked from the doorway.

I looked up at her. "I don't know. I feel horrible."

"Flu?" She asked.

I nodded. "I think so."

"What about Sam?" She asked. "Is he alright?"

"He's not throwing up anymore. But he's in bed, sleeping. He's too tired to even move." I explained.

"I'm gonna go check on him." She said and disappeared.

"Jacey?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"Help me up."

She held her hands out and pulled me to my feet.

"Where to next?" She asked.

"A bed. I don't care which one. Just a damn bed." I muttered.

She walked me into the guest bedroom and tucked me into bed, placing the trash can next to the bed in case I got sick again.

"Get some rest." She flicked the light off and went to check on Sam.

I managed to fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

(A few hours later.)

I woke up in bed, drenched in sweat.

I threw the blankets off of me and got out of bed.

The room was dark but I managed to find my way to the hallway and down the steps.

Sam was curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around him and a steaming cup of soup in his hands.

Ronnie was at his feet, watching him protectively.

Jacey was nearly passed out in the reciliner and Becca was putting in a DVD.

"Hi." I said when they all looked at me.

Jacey woke up and rushed to my side and guided me to the couch.

I flopped down and Sam handed me an extra blanket. "Thanks."

"Do you want some soup?" Becca offered.

I shook my head. "No, thanks."

Sam finished his soup quickly and held his arms out to me.

I slid into his arms and rested my head against his chest.

Within minutes, Sam and I were asleep.

But for some reason, Josh was the only person that I could dream about.

~!Author'sNote!~ I love you guys! I know I say it all the time but I mean, you guys are awesome. Review please. Also, if you have another idea for a character you would like me to add, just send me the info in a message and I will work them into the story. xoxo, Aly.


	15. 27 Hour Drive

(Josh's POV)

"This is it." I said, taking a deep breath.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and ran a hand through my hair. Why was I so damn nervous?

I opened the car door and got out, shutting it softly behind me.

This was it. I'd finally made it to Aribella's new house. The 27 hour drive from New York was worth it.

I walked up onto the porch and rang the doorbell.

After a few seconds, the door opened and Aribella came out. "Josh? What are you doing?"

"I miss you. I had to come see you." I said, no longer nervous.

"But, Josh. I told you about Sam..." She bit her lip.

I sighed. "Are you really going to pick him over me?"

Aribella grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. "We really need to talk."

"I love you." I whispered.

"I love you too. But I can't do this." She said.

"Why not? Bells, what happened? We used to be so close." I grabbed her hand.

She met my eyes. "Did you cheat on me?"

"Of course not." I said. "Babe, you know i wouldn't do that."

"Do I?"

"You should." I whispered and tried to hug her but she backed away.

She rubbed her temples and sighed. "Josh, you shouldn't be here."

I smiled. "Probably not. But I want to be here."

Bells couldn't help but smile.

I took her face in my hands and kissed her softly.

(Aribella's POV)

All I could think was "oh my god!"

Josh kissed me, actually kissed me. It had never felt like this when we kissed before, like he really cared.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered against my lips.

"I'm sorry too." I whispered back.

I knotted my fingers in his light brown hair and held on tight.

"I love you so much." I whispered. "I fucking love you."

~!Author'sNote!~ BOOM! Surprised ya, right? Yeah, I try. haha. Review, tell me what you think? Team Josh or Team Sam? (if you think I'm kidding, I'm not. seriously, tell me.) Thanks for reading. xoxo. Aly


	16. I'm A TwoTiming Bitch

**(This one gets a bit... spicy. lol. Enjoyy!)**

_Holy fucking Christ! What is wrong with you? What the fuck did you do? _I thought as I walk into school alone, refusing to ride with Sam.

_Are you completely mental? Honestly, Aribella. What is your issue? _

I got to my locker and opened it, got my books, put them in the classroom, and walked into the girls' bathroom.

I stared at myself in the mirror, eyes full of hatred.

Violet walked in with one of her clones, Hayley or Holly or whatever her name was.

I turned to walk out but they blocked my path.

"Where do you think you're going?" Violet asked.

"To class." I said simply, trying to keep calm.

"No, no. Not yet." She said. "We have things to discuss?"

"Like what? How much Daddy's gonna have to pay for reconstructive surgery when I break your pretty little face?" I said, getting in her face.

She took a step back, cringing away from my unrelenting glare.

"Very funny." She said, trying to act tough.

"Listen, Violet." I began, trying to calm myself again. "If you want Sam, you can have him. I'm done, honestly. He's all yours."

"What? Did he break up with you?" She laughed. "I saw it coming. I knew from the beginning that you were just a cheap lay."

Using my forearm, I shoved her against the wall. "Keep your fucking mouth shut. I don't know how many fucking times I'm going to have to explain to you and Dirk, but I'm not going to put up with your bullshit. I put up with enough of it back in New York and I sure as hell don't need it now. And after what you two did to my house, be lucky I don't fucking kill you right now."

Violet's clone tried pulling me off so I let my arm snap back and I felt her nose connect with my elbow.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Violet said as she started crying.

"No you're not. You're fucking scared." I said.

She kept crying.

I lowered my arm and she slid down the wall in tears.

I walked out of the bathroom and towards English.

Sam was waiting by my locker and caught my arm as I passed.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?" He asked and kept a grip on my arm as I tried to pull away.

"We're going to be late." I said.

"I don't care. We need to talk." He didn't bother whispering, there was no point. The halls were nearly empty at this point.

"Sam, no." I tried pulling away agian.

"Aribella, I want you to talk to me." He said as he met my eyes.

"No."

"Ari, what is going on with you?" He asked.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!" Sam shouted.

"Please, Sam. Later." I begged.

He pushed me against the locker and pressed his body against mine.

He kissed me roughly and a small moan escaped my lips.

"Ari, I want you to tell me." He whispered.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, you're all I care about. You're all I want." He didn't move away, he kept me trapped between him and the lockers. "This might seem crazy, but Ari, I love you. I seriously love you."

"Sam-" I began but he cut me off by kissing me again.

The bell rang, signaling that we were late to class but neither of us moved.

I wound my arms around his neck. "Sam, I think I love you too."

He grinned. "I was hoping you would say that."

I giggled.

"Here's another crazy idea, but why don't we skip school today? Just leave right now? You and me?" He suggested.

"Where would we go? What would we do?" I asked.

"I can think of a few things." He kissed me once more.

"If kissing all day is what you had in mind, I would be totally fine with that." I admitted.

Sam laughed. "Is that a yes?"

I bit his lip. "That's a hell yes."

Sam pulled me down the halls and out to his car.

We got in and he started speeding out of town.

"Where are we going?" I asked, curling up on the seat next to him.

"I've got something to show you." He smiled. "Trust me, you'll love it."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his neck.

I bit down hard and he gasped. "Ari, I'm going to wreck if you keep doing that."

I breathed a small laugh. "Sorry."

One of his hands left the steering wheel and started rubbing my thigh.

Sam stopped at a stop sign and took advantage of the moment.

He turned and kissed me, his foot slipped off the brake and we shot forward a few feet before he hit the brake and we stopped.

We both laughed.

"Okay, that was scary as hell." I said.

Sam turned his attention back to the road.

"Sammy, can I tell you something?" I asked.

"Of course, baby. You can tell me anything." He assured me.

I almost told him about Josh but decided against it. "I'm really happy you're my boyfriend."

He smiled. "And I'm happy your my girlfriend."

_Oh god. _I thought. _What am I getting myself into?_

~!Author'sNote!~ Boom! More drama! Oh yeah! Sorry, I just like where this story is going. Um, well, it's a little insane, but it's not too bad. (BTW! This was a longer chapter, I felt bad cuz all the others were so short.) Tell me what you think because your reviews make me smile and giggle and stuff. I'm still looking for Michael and Jordan's lovers so if you have any ideas, hit me up. haha. Review, lovers. xoxo, Aly.


	17. Making It Better

"There's something to be said about a kid in demand, with a chip on his shoulder and a pen in his hand. Writing words to make you shake to make you think or bend or break. Doubt every single world he told you, don't you dare forget who sold you that. I let you drop cause it was too hot to touch, came on a little too strong, it was a little too much!" I sang along as Sam sang to the crowd.

The first Paradise Fears show I'd ever been to was freaking amazing. Sam was a great singer, Cole was too, not to mention that the kid was majorly talented with a guitar. Michael had serious skill with the keyboard, Jordan was super talented on guitar as well. Marcus was the best bass player I knew, especially for being so young. And Lucas's talent on drums, don't even get me started.

The show was only 25 minutes long but the guys worked their asses off onstage.

When they stepped offstage, Jacey, Becca, Ronnie, and I ran over to greet them.

I threw myself into Sam's arms and didn't even care that he was drenched in sweat.

"You did amazing!" I grinned.

"Thanks, babe." He hugged me tight.

"Marcus, you were perf!" Jacey giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

When I glanced over, Becca and Cole were making out so I looked away, no one needed to see that.

Ronnie was standing with Lucas, obviously working her magic on him.

She was flirting like crazy and Lucas was enjoying every moment of it.

"Ronnie!" I whisper-shouted and she looked over. "Kiss him! He wants you to!"

She giggled and mouthed. "I will!"

I turned my attention back to Sam. "So, what do you wanna do tonight?

"Well, first, I need to go home, take a shower and get some food, and after that, we can go to the lake like we were supposed to yesterday." He said.

"We were going to go to the lake?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's beautiful out there and I know you would love it, but we got...distracted." He smirked.

I laughed. "Well, let's go get you some food and a shower." I pulled him out of the club and to the car.

I drove back to Sam's house and he hurried upstairs to take a shower.

While he was in there, I looked around the kitchen and found the ingredients to make a traditional Italian vegetable soup. Why not bring a bit of my heritage into it? (Yes, I was part Italian.)

I was just finishing the soup when Sam came in wearing only basketball shorts and his hair was still dripping wet. It was like the guy on my favorite Abercrombie bag had come to life and walked into the kitchen.

"That smells amazing." He complimented..

"It tastes even better." I said and dipped up two bowls.

I handed one to him and we sat down to eat.

"So, where did you learn to cook?" Sam asked when we finished.

"My mom and my grandma." I said. "Italian household, learning to cook was more important than potty training."

Sam grinned. "So, you read to go to the lake? We can go night swimming."

"Really?" I asked.

"Sure." He said.

"Um, well, you go finish getting ready and I gotta run over to Jacey's house really fast." I said.

"Alright." Sam went to go get ready and I sprinted out the door and the mile to Jacey's house.

I knocked on the front door and it opened a moment later. I was still panting.

"Are you okay, Ari?" Jacey asked.

"I'm totally fine. I just need to borrow a bathing suit." I breathed.

"Okay. Come on!" She pulled me into the house and into her bedroom.

"Oh my god!" I said. The room was so colorful and sporadic and awesome, much like Jacey.

"What kind of bathing suit do you want?" She asked and opened her dresser.

"Bikini, obvi." I said.

"Well, like, what color?" She asked.

"Do you have like, a hot pink or neon blue?"

She pulled out a tiny bikini that was a vibrant pink. The top was well, really tiny, two triangles the size of Doritos attached by a few strings, and the bottoms weren't much more.

"Perfect!" I grinned and she tossed it to me.

"I hate to run but I gotta go, Sam's probably waiting for me." I kissed her on the cheek and skipped outside. "Thanks, Jacey! I'll see you tomorrow!"

I got back to sam's house and went into the bathroom to slip the bikini under my shorts and tank top.

We got in the car and Sam drove us out to the lake.

"Oh my gosh! This is gorgeous!" I gasped when he lead me to the top of a small cliff that was overlooking the lake.

"I thought you would like it." Sam smiled and walked up behind me, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist.

I leaned against him. "This is great."

"Wanna go for a swim?" He asked.

I nodded and we separated.

Sam took his shirt off and kicked off his shoes, he wore dark blue swim trunks.

I carefully pulled off my shorts first and then my tank top.

Sam stared. "Wow."

I blushed and grabbed his hand. "Jump on 3?"

He nodded.

I counted it off. "1, 2, 3!"

We ran towards the edge of the cliff and jumped.

It wasn't that far of a drop, maybe 40 feet, but it was still a thrill.

When we resurfaced, I couldn't stop smiling, neither could Sam.

I swam over to him and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said.

"But I have something to tell you." I whispered.

"What is it?"

I took a deep breath. "Promise me you won't get angry?"

He frowned for a moment but nodded. "I promise. I won't get mad at you."

"I kissed Josh." I said. "Well, actually he kissed me and then without even thinking about it, I kissed him back. I know you're probably super pissed but I couldn't keep it from you."

"Why'd you kiss him back?" Sam asked, looking hurt.

"Because it reminded me of home. I'm so sorry. I just, I wasn't thinking." I said.

Sam remained silent.

"Are you angry?" I asked.

"No, not with you. With Josh, I'm furious. But I can't be mad at you." He said and gave me a sweet smile.

"Thank you." I threw myself into his arms.

He hugged me and we smiled.

"Ready to have fun now?" I giggled.

"What'd you have in mind?" He asked.

"Race you to the other side?" I suggested.

He smirked. "You sure you're up for that?"

"Hell yeah. Let's go." I said.

"Wait, let's make it interesting." Sam grinned.

"Alright." I agreed. "What are the terms?"

"Loser has to kiss the winner." He whispered.

I laughed. "Deal."

We started at the bottom of the cliff that we'd jumped from and shot forward.

The lake wasn't very wide so the race didn't take long.

We were neck and neck the entire time until I managed to get ahead in the last ten feet.

I didn't really manage to get ahead, though. It was obvious Sam was letting me win.

But, still, I won. I allowed myself to be proud.

"Ha! I win!" I shouted and slapped the rocks on the shoreline.

I pushed myself up onto the rock and sat there with my legs in the water.

Sam pulled himself up beside me and brushed a wet strand of hair out of my face.

He pressed his lips softly to mine and I swear, I truly fell head over heels in love with him.

~!Author'sNote!~ Awe, things change. Ari made it better! :) Review, please. xoxo, Aly.


	18. Author's Note Please Read

I know you're not supposed to use a whole chapter just for an author's note but whatever. Who cares?

I just have a few things I want to tell you guys.

Chapter 18 is going to take a while for me to write. For some reason, I have writer's block really bad. I've started and re-started the chapter I don't know how many times.

If you guys can help me out a little bit, like, contribute some ideas and whatnot, I would appreciate it sooooo much.

I'm sorry for the delay on the chapter but I'll get it out to you as soon as possible.

Love always, Aly.


	19. We Should Be On Jersey Shore

"It's the fucking weekend, bitchez!" I shouted as our group ran outside.

I'd survived my first week at VHS, thank God.

"What should we do, guys? I totally wanna party!" I said.

We loaded into Sam's car, I have no idea how we fit 10 people in that car but we managed.

Sam was driving. I was in passenger, Jacey was in my lap.

Marcus was in Michael's Lap, Becca was sitting on Cole, Ronnie was sitting on Lucas, and Jordan was sprawled out on top of all of them.

"Marcus, you're crushing my balls." Michael groaned.

Marcus laughed. "Well, Jordan's crushing mine, just get used to it."

"What about my balls, guys?" I laughed.

"Oh yeah, you must be in so much pain!" Michael said.

Sam drove us to his house and we climbed out of the car and went inside.

"So, what are we gonna do, guys?" I asked as we all found seats in the living room.

"We could go to the lake?" Ronnie suggested.

"Or we could go to the house party at Sadie Bryson's house?" Becca said. "She throws bomb parties. Cute guys, drinking games, and she never runs out of vodka."

"I vote house party!" I threw my arm in the air. "I don't know this chick, but she has vodka so she's immediately my best friend."

Everyone laughed.

"Sound good for everone?" Cole asked.

We all nodded.

"Let's go!" Sam said.

"Wait!" I shouted. "Wait! We have to get ready!"

The girls nodded and the guys looked confused.

"We have to be sexy!" I explained. "If a girl shows up at a house party in school clothes... Oh my god, social suicide!"

The guys nodded and pretended to understand.

"GIRLS! TO MY HOUSE!" Jacey screamed.

We took off to Jacey's house and she let us borrow a few of her amazing dresses.

I wore a black and hot pink tutu dress with black heels.

Ronnie put on a dark blue, sequined, strapless dress and grey heels.

Becca wore destroyed purple skinny jeans with a black tutu over them, a black racer back tank top, and high heeled black converse.

Jacey's dress was black and skin tight. It had rips up and down her sides and was almost as short as mine. She slipped on a pair of black flip flops.

"Flip flops, Jace? Really?" I laughed.

"Heels making me fall sometimes." She shrugged and we moved on to make-up.

Mine was simple, well, simple for me. Dark black eyeliner and mascara, black and hot pink eyeshadow, light blush, and pink lips.

I thought about curling my hair, like Ronnie and Becca were doing, but I kept it pin straight.

By the time we were ready, it was almost 8 p.m. Which meant the party had been underway for an hour already.

The guys pulled up in Cole's mom's van.

We walked out of the house and they stared.

"Sexy bitches!" Lucas yelled out the window.

We laughed. "We know!"

We got in the van and sped off to Sadie's house.

When we got there, the party was well underway. There were couples making out in the front yard, people dancing, music blasting, and drinks flowing.

I smiled. "This is perf!"

Everyone went inside without paying a single penny, apparently Sadie was loaded and didn't need people to pay for drinks.

"I want to introduce you to Sadie, she'll love you." Jacey screamed over the music.

"Um, okay." I said and she started pulling me further into the house.

I grabbed Sam's hand, not wanting him to leave my side.

"Sadie!" Jacey screamed when she spotted a girl with long black hair, dark make-up, and the cutest red dress I'd ever seen.

"Hi!" Sadie squealed and hugged Jacey.

"Sadie, you totally have to meet my friend Aribellas!" She gestured to me.

"Hello, gorgeous!" Sadie hugged me.

"Hi!" I smiled. This girl was almost as crazy as Jacey.

"Drink of choice?" She asked. "No wait, lemme guess. Whiskey? Nope. Wait... Vodka!"

"Hell yeah!" I laughed.

"Come with me!" She sang and pulled us into the kitchen.

I looked around, every inch of counter space was covered in vodka. My jaw dropped. "Paradise... This is paradise."

Sadie smiled. "Ever had UV Blue?"

I grinned. "It's like, totally my favorite drink ever!"

"Well, we're sharing a bottle, just the four of us! Well, maybe two bottles." She giggled.

"Sounds perf!"

We passed around the bottle until it was gone and Sadie opened another and we did the same with it.

All four of us had drank at least half a bottle of vodka each. We were all wasted.

Jacey and Sadie went outside to get some air and I pulled Sam into the living room to dance.

We started grinding and after a minute, Becca and Cole joined in.

After that, more and more people joined and soon enough, there was a full grind train going on.

Jacey and Sadie came running inside and "I Like It" by Enrique Iglesias started.

"This is my song!" Sadie screamed.

She pulled Jacey over and we started dancing together. Becca and Ronnie started dancing with us and this time, an all girl grind train started. All of guys stood against the walls, obviously loving what they were seeing.

But, soon enough, the song overpowered me and I started fist pumping. (I was an east coast girl, don't judge!)

Everyone followed suit and the party turned into an episode of Jersey Shore.

All of us were jumping, some of us nearly touching the ceiling. The thought of a bunch of drunk, high heel wearing, jumping girls seems dangerous, but we were girls after all and we knew how to handle ourselves.

We started pulling the guys into our group and they stood there awkwardly before finally fist pumping with the rest of us.

The song ended and our group worked its way outside.

Becca and Sadie stayed inside though.

We all sat down on the back patio and cooled down.

"So, girls, I totally think we could fit in on Jersey Shore." I said. "I mean, we fist pump like beasts."

"Oh! And check this out, guys." Ronnie said.

She pointed to herself, "Sammi's attitude."

We nodded and she pointed to Jacey. "Short like Sooki."

We nodded again and she pointed to me. "The attitude and tits of Jwoww!"

Everyone laughed and clapped.

"Ronnie, I barely know you, girl. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about you checking out my tits." I said.

She burst out laughing. "Hey, it happens."

I nodded. "Fair enough."

"You do have amazing boobs though. Seriously, I'm jealous." Jacey said.

I shrugged, "I guess I'm just lucky."

Lucas pulled his shirt up. "My boobies are better!"

I burst out laughing. "Lou, stop being a hoe."

"Sorry." He pulled his shirt down.

Jacey gasped. "Guys, let's go to the lake now!"

I raised my eyebrows. "None of us are sober enough to drive."

"Lies." Jordan said. "I haven't had one drink tonight."

It was true, Jordan wasn't a fan of drinking. I guess that worked out for us tonight.

"Do you wanna drive us to the lake?" I asked.

"Sure." He said. "I can play lifegaurd too."

We laughed.

"To the van!" Marcus shouted.

"Ugh!" Us girls groaned. Our feet were hurting already.

Lucas gave Ronnie a hand up, letting her lean on him.

Marcus picked Jacey up and carried her like a baby. Cole went inside to get Becca. And Sam pulled me to my feet and said "Piggyback ride?"

I nodded and pulled the bottom of my dress further up my hips and hopped onto his back.

"Beckers!" I shouted when Cole pulled her outside.

She glared. "Don't call me that."

"Sorry, Becca." I said.

"It's okay." She giggled and looked up at Cole. "Can I have a piggyback ride, too?"

"Of course." Cole pulled her onto his back and she squealed, "Yay!"

We walked to the van and loaded in.

Jordan climbed into the driver's seat and started it.

He drove us to lake and we cheered.

"Wait." Becca said before we got out. "No one has bathing suits."

"That's why we have undies." Jacey laughed. "Duh!"

We stripped down to our underwear and walked towards the water.

Jacey tested the water. "Oh jesus, it's freezing."

Lou, Marcus, and Michael ran right in, not caring about the temperature.

I held my hand out to Sam. "Let's go in together."

He smiled and ran towards me.

"What are you doing?" I squealed when he lifted me and ran towards the water.

He jumped in, still carrying me.

The water was frigid and we were both gasping when we resurfaced.

"You ass." I splashed him with water.

"Hey, Aribella?" Jacey said.

I looked at her, still standing on the beach. "Yeah?"

She lifted a pair of tiny, black shorts from the ground. "Aren't these yours?"

I blushed. "Yeah. I forgot them last time me and Sam came here."

She laughed and dropped them. "Little slut."

I splashed her and she ran away. "I'm sorry."

"Just come in, guys!" I yelled. "It's not that bad."

Lou got out of the water and held his arms out to Ronnie. "Babe."

"No, I don't wanna." She said.

"Babe!" He ran after her.

He caught her and pulled her in the water.

"Guys, Ari's right. It's not so bad." She said.

"See?" I said. "Just get in here!"

Jacey sprinted into the water and jumped on Marcus.

Cole and Becca finally got in and Jordan lingered by the van.

He cranked up the radio and blasted The Cab.

"Woohoo!" Me and Ronnie started dancing in the water.

"Cause I want it bad, I want a bad girl, baby bad. I want a love that's crazy, yeah! I wanna fight, I wanna rock and roll and party all night! Yeah, I want it bad!" We sang along.

"Guys, let's play chicken!" Jacey suggested, she was already on Marcus's shoulders.

I smiled at Sam and he let me climb on his shoulders.

Jacey and I grabbed each others' arms, trying to push and pull each other down.

She pushed hard and I started to fall back but started to push my weight back forward.

"Oh no!" She flailed her arms and her and Marcus fell back.

"Woo!" I shouted and high-fived Sam.

"Us next!" Becca climbed onto Cole's shoulders.

Becca was stronger than me and managed to push me back.

Sam and I fell back into the water and came up laughing.

I climbed out of the water and laid down on the beach, Sam laid down beside me and I curled up against him.

Within minutes, I was sleeping calmly on his shoulder.

~!Author'sNote!~ Okay, this chapter didn't take as long as I thought. My girl Carlin helped me out a lot so give her props for being the badass who helped conquer my writer's block! haha. Review, lovers! xoxo, Aly.


	20. Talking

(A few weeks later- Sam's POV)

"So, winter break starts in a few days..." I began.

Aribella nodded.

"Did you have plans?" I asked. "I mean, you're staying with us permanently now. And my family usually goes to California during break and I needed to know if you would be going with us or if you were going to go somewhere with your mom or something."

She shook her head. "No, I didn't have plans."

I sighed. This is what it had been like for the past two weeks; I could barely get a sentence out of her half of the time, it was all one word answers, head shakes, and shrugs. "Ari, I really wish you would talk to me."

She bit her lip. "Sorry."

"Listen. I know how bad you feel. But you can't change it now, all you can do is try to move past it. Alright?" I said and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"The last thing I did was fight with him. I tried to fight back when he hit me, and two days later, he died." She said. "I fucking fought with him."

"Ari, I know, I know." I hugged her.

"No!" She stood up and took a step away. "You don't know, Sam!"

I stood up. "Aribella, calm down."

"No! I will not calm down." She crossed her arms.

At least she was actually talking.

"I won't calm down. My dad is dead now. I wanted to fix things with him, but I couldn't. And now he's fucking dead!" She sobbed.

"Ari, deep breath." I whispered and took a step toward her.

"No. Shut up." She yelled.

This shouldn't be happening. This isn't why I brought her to the lake. I brought her here so that she would talk to me, so she would laugh, so she would smile. Not so that she could scream at me.

"Please." I said.

She took off my varsity jacket that she was wearing, threw it at me, grabbed her purse off the ground, and started running.

I threw my jacket in the car and ran after her, but she was too fast. I couldn't keep up with her. She'd make it all the way to the road before I would even have a chance of catching her.

Wait, the road!

I got in the car and started it.

I found my way back to the main road and saw Aribella walking down the side, her bare arms folded across her chest and her head ducked, trying to ignore the artic air that was blowing past.

"Ari." I rolled down the window and slowed down beside her.

She shook her head and started walking faster.

I pulled the car over in front of her and got out.

"Get in the car, Ari." I said.

She stepped around me and kept walking. I grabbed her waist and pulled her back.

"Get your hands off of me." She ordered with deadly control in her voice.

I let go immediately. "Don't be like this."

"Fuck you." She walked away and dug a hoodie out of her bag.

She pulled it on and buried her head in the hood.

"I love you." I yelled and she paused.

Aribella turned around. "Stop it."

"I mean it. I love you." You could hear the tears in my voice.

"Stop it." She said again.

"Stop what?" I asked. "Loving you or telling you that I do?"

"Both."

I shook my head. "I can't do that, Ari. You and I both know that."

She collapsed and I ran forward, lifting her easily.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." I said and carried her to the car.

I blasted the heat and she curled up against my side as I drove home.

"Sam, Aribella, is that you?" Mom called when we walked in the door.

"Yeah, Mom. It's us." I called back and she walked into the living room.

"Oh, Bella, honey, are you alright?" She asked.

Ari nodded. "I'm fine, Mrs Miller."

"My name is Jill, or Mom. I thought you knew that by now." Mom smiled softly and hugged her.

"Sorry." Ari apologized.

"Don't be. Just go get ready for dinner." Mom said.

Ari nodded and walked upstairs.

I turned to my mom. "She's talking again."

"Good." Mom smiled. "No daughter of mine needs to shut herself away like she did."

I smiled. "Daughter?"

"You know I already consider her part of the family, Samuel. Now go get ready for dinner." Mom said.

~!Author'sNote!~ I honestly like, don't even know where Carlin and I are going with this right now. Seriously. Oh, btw, I noticed how many typos we had in the last chapter and I'm so sorry about that, it was like 3 a.m., give us a break. haha. But, Carlin loves you guys for all of the support, and she is officially becoming my co-writer for this! :) Review, please. xoxo, Aly.


	21. Trespassing

(Ari's POV)

"Leah, I feel like such a horrible person." I said as I dug through my dresser.

"Don't be. You're better than any of the other girls that Sam has dated." She said and sat down on the bottom bunk of our bed.

(Yes, we are two teenage girls who share a bunk bed. We're epic like that.)

Leah was 15, two years younger than me, and Sam's only sister. She was so willing to share her room with me when my dad kicked me out of the house and I ended up having to move in with Sam's family, she needed another girl in the house.

Sam also had three brothers, Caleb who was 18, Seth who was 16, and Joe who was 14.

"You don't know what I said to him earlier." I said.

"Who cares? You got in a fight, it happens. I mean, arguing shows passion." She giggled.

I smiled. "Leah, can I tell you something?"

"Of course." She nodded and smoothed her long blonde ponytail.

"First of all, I envy your hair." I laughed.

"I know." She giggled. "Go on?"

"I, um, I think I honestly love Sam. But, I'm just so scared to admit it." I sighed and pulled off my wet t-shirt.

"Why are you scared?" Leah asked.

I pulled on a dry tank top. "Because as soon as you start caring, that's when you get hurt."

Leah stood up and gave me a hug. "It'll be okay, I promise."

"Thanks, Leah." I whispered.

"No problem, Ari." Leah pulled away. "Now puts some pants on so we can go eat."

I laughed and pulled on a pair of jeans.

We walked downstairs together and took our seats at the dinner table.

"I'm still not used to this." I whispered.

"You never did this at your house?" Joe asked.

I shook my head. "My parents never cared."

Joe patted my shoulder. "Well, we all care. So we can make up for them."

I smiled. "Thanks, Joey."

Sam took his seat beside me and Mrs Miller, er, Jill put the food on the table.

I bit my lip, oh god, food...

Leah grabbed my hand. "It's okay. You've done well today. All you need is a little food."

I smiled at her. We did this everyday. Encoured each other to stay strong and stay hungry...

Everyone joined hands and Mr Miller said grace, which was another thing I wasn't used to.

Dinner was quite tonight, I guess no one felt like talking today.

"Jill, do you want my help with dishes?" I asked when she started clearing the table.

"No, honey. Don't worry about it, you just go relax. You've had a long week." She smiled and kissed my forehead.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course, honey." She nodded.

I smiled and left the room.

"Do you want to go for a walk with us?" Sam asked.

I looked up, him, Caleb, Seth, and Joe were pulling on their coats.

"Um, sure. Lemme get some boots." I ran upstairs and pulled on a pair of black ugg boots and my All Time Low hoodie.

"Hey, Leah, you wanna go with?" I asked before going back downstairs.

"Um, sure." She said and pulled on her own pair of black uggs.

We walked downstairs and Sam tossed me his varsity jacket. "This is yours now. You know that."

I grinned and pulled it on, loving how it always smelled like Sam.

Leah slipped her red Set It Off jacket and the six of us walked out the door together.

It was freezing, absolutely freezing.

I latched onto Seth because he was the closest person.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Trying to stay warm, Bieber." I said. (Everyone called Seth "Bieber" because he looked exactly like Justin.)

He laughed. "Then go hug your boyfriend."

"I am!" I yelled. "You're the one I want, Bieber!"

"I knew it!" Sam laughed. "You were using me to get to my brother!"

"Wait!" Caleb shouted. "You told me that you wanted me last night!"

I laughed. "Oh my god, guys, I was lying to all of you."

I let go of Seth and grabbed Leah. "We're actually lesbian lovers."

We laughed.

The boys gasped. "I KNEW IT!"

Leah and I hooked arms as we walked.

"Where are we even going?" I asked after we walked a few blocks in silence.

"Well, I've reached my destination." Seth looked at the house across the street.

Massi, that was the girl's name, Seth had been talking about her for weeks and I finally convinced him to give her a call. Now, he was absolutely in love.

"Go get your girl." I laughed and he ran off.

Sam took his spot beside me. "Where next?"

"I wanna go see Alex." Leah bit her lip.

Sam glared.

"Sam, don't be the overprotective brother. Let the girl have some fun." I nudged him.

He sighed heavily. "Fine. Just, please, Leah, don't lose your virginity tonight."

She gasped. "You're a horrible person!"

"I am not." Sam said.

Leah took off towards Alex's house and I yelled. "Have fun. Don't get raped."

"Are you going anywhere?" Sam asked Caleb.

"I don't know. I have no life." He shrugged.

I frowned and gave him a hug. "You totally have a life. I know for a fact that Sadie has the biggest crush on you."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

I nodded. "Hell yeah. You want her number?"

He nodded and I texted him her contact info.

"Thanks!" He smiled and called her.

"Speaker!" I whispered.

He turned on the speaker phone and Sadie answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sadie! It's Caleb." He said.

"Oh, heyy!" She gushed. "What's up?"

"Um, just walking with Sam and Aribella. I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out?" He asked.

"Well, I can't go anywhere, sadly. If you want to come over for a while you can." She said.

"Yeah, sure. That's great. I can be there in ten minutes." Caleb threw his fist in the air.

I laughed.

"That sounds great. I'll wait on the porch for you." Sadie giggled.

They said goodbye and Caleb took off running. "I'm gettin' laid tonight!"

I burst out laughing.

"My family is insane." Sam said simply.

I giggled and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

We started walking aimlessly.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked.

"Where ever our feet take us." I whispered.

"Can I show you something?" He asked.

I nodded. "Sure."

We walked a few miles towards the edge of town and I saw an old apartment building.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"I'll show you, just be quiet." Sam whispered, his lips at my ear.

I nodded and he pulled me inside. "This is illegal. What are we doing?"

"Shh." He said and pulled me a few flights up a rickety staircase.

He opened a door and we ended up on the roof.

The trees were no longer restricting our view of the sky and the stars were actually visible.

"Wow." I smiled.

"Hold on a sec." Sam whispered and opened a random trunk that was on the roof.

He pulled out a folded quilt, the trunk had kept it cleand dry.

He spread it out on the ground and we laid down together, staring up at the sky.

"This is amazing." I whispered and traced the shape of the moon.

Sam smiled at me. "I love you."

I blushed. "I love you too."

He kissed my cheek and pulled me on top of him.

"Can we just stay like this forever?" I asked.

"Whatever you want." Sam whispered.

I smiled and bit my lip. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Anytime."

I kissed him and his arms tightened around me.

"What are you kids doing up here?" A rough voice shouted.

We looked around and saw a disheveled man standing by the door.

"Get the hell outta here!" The man shouted.

I stood up, pulling Sam with me.

He grabbed the blanket and we sprinted towards the door but the man wouldn't let us pass. "You wait here. I done called the cops for trespassin'!"

_Fuck! Fucking fuck fuck! _I shouted in my head.

I looked at Sam and he didn't know what to do.

A few moments later, we heard sirens. _Shit!_

The man lead us downstairs and out of the building and the cops descended on us.

"Mind telling me what you kids were doing?" One asked.

"Uh, we were just hanging out." I said.

"Just hanging out?" He asked.

We nodded.

"How old are you two?" He asked.

"Seventeen." We muttered.

The cop sighed. "I guess, that since is your first offence, we can let your off with a warning. But, as protocol, I'll need to take you kids home."

We got in the cop car and he drove us to Sam's house and walked us to the door.

He knocked and Jill opened the door.

"What did you do?" She gasped.

"Trespassing, ma'am." The officer said.

She frowned and pulled us inside. "I told you to stay out of trouble. Officer, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it, ma'am. Just make sure they don't do it again."

She nodded. "Of course."

"Good evening." the cop left.

Jill shut the door. "Bed, now. We'll talk about this in the morning."

Sam and I climbed upstairs.

Before I went into my room, I kissed Sam and whispered, "It was worth it."

I kissed him once and then went to bed.

~!Author'sNote!~ Ooh, dey got in trouble. BTW, tis Carlin. This is my first ever chapter. Do you guys like it? I hope you like it! Oh my gosh, review for me and Aly. We love you! Love always, Carlin.


	22. Blackout

~!Author'sNote!~ You guys, oh my gosh, the best people ever! Everytime I get a new message or review, I just want to hug every single one of you. xoxo, Aly.

"I met this girl down the block from me, used to tell myself she was too hot for me. But then I saw her at the corner store, so I ran over just to grab the door. I got her number, we started chillin', we started buzzin', we got addicted. Now I, I'm the one she can't live without. I bet that's her right now!" Leah and I belted out as we sang into round hairbrushes and danced in the mirrow. "Shorty hittin' me up, says she wanna re-up, knows I got the best in town. Cuz when she gets the shivers, she knows that I'll deliver. I'm the one that holds her down!"

Sam burst into the room with a hairbrush of his own. "She's about to break, break, break, break, break. And I won't let her wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. It's getting kinda late, late, late, late, late. And she just wanna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake!"

I fell down on the floor because I was laughing so hard. Leah fell on top of me.

"Oh my god. Sam!" I laughed. "Oh my god, you should not know the words for this song."

"You two play it every five minutes, I know the damn song, okay!" He laughed and helped us up.

"Aribella! Sam! Butts down here now!" Jill yelled up the stairs.

"Oh my lord." I gasped. "We are so dead."

Sam and I walked down the steps slowly.

"How could you be so reckless?" Jill said.

"I'm sorry, Mom. It was all my fault, not Ari's. I took her there." Sam jumped to my defense.

Jill frowned. "Listen, kids. I know you're going to get in trouble, alright? Just try not to get brought home by the cops at 12:30 a.m."

"We won't." I said immediately.

"Good." Jill smiled. "Now start packing. We leave first thing Saturday morning."

"But it's Thursday!" I gasped. "Oh my gosh, there's so much to do!"

I sprinted off upstairs and pulled my suitcases out of the closet.

Leah already had hers out and was folding a pair of jeans into it.

"I would tell you to pack light, but I won't. We're going to California, take everything!" She said as I laid the suitcase on the floor and opened it.

I folded 20 pairs of skinny jeans and 15 pairs of shorts and the first suitcase was already stuffed. I zipped it shut and opened the other one.

I put in 50 shirts, some socks, bras, thongs, 5 pairs of flip flops, 5 pair of converse, and 2 pair of heels. I also folded in my bright red party dress, who knows, I might need it.

"Aren't you going to pack Charles?" Leah asked and held up the stuffed panda that Sam had given to me.

"Not yet. I have to have him to sleep." I took him and hugged him to my chest.

"You're such a child." Leah laughed.

I stuck my tongue out at her.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Leah called.

Seth walked in and saw clothes strewn across the room. "Are you packing or did the closet throw up?"

"Both." We chorused.

Seth laughed. "Mom said suppers ready."

"Ugh." I groaned and put Charles on my bunk.

I was about to walk downstairs when Seth stopped me. "Change your shirt. Mom doesn't like cleavage at the dinner table."

I looked down at my v-neck shirt. It was kind of revealing.

"Okay. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." I nodded and pulled the shirt off.

Seth froze. "Um, you could've waited for me to leave."

"Seth, don't act like you've never seen tits before." I said as I pulled an Aeropostale sweater on.

"Not my brother's girlfriend's tits." He said as he walked away.

I laughed. "Tits are tits, kid."

Leah and I went downstairs for supper, I barely touched my food, I'd eaten enough already.

"Are you alright?"Sam whispered.

I shrugged. "I don't feel well."

"Do you want to go lay down?" Jill asked.

I nodded and stood up.

I ran upstairs but instead of laying down, I changed into shorts and a tank top, and ran seven miles on the treadmill that Leah and I used.

But it was too much. I'd been restricting my calorie intake to 400 calories a day and running so much on so little energy is a horrible idea.

I stumbled off of the treadmill and leaned against the wall.

Black spots appeared in my vision and I slid down the wall and let the darkness overcome me.

~!Author'sNote!~ This one's kinda short but at least it's a chapter. So, yeah, tell me what ya think! Also, Carlin says thanks for the support! xoxo, Aly.


	23. Emergency Room

"Hey, Aribella? Are you feeling better?" Leah asked when she walked in.

I couldn't talk, I could barely keep myself conscious.

"Aribella? Oh my god, what happened?" She knelt down beside me.

She felt for my pulse, she could hardly find one. And my temperature was that of a dead snake.

"Sam!" Leah screamed. "Sam! Get up here now! Sam!"

Sam came sprinting upstairs and into the room. "What?"

He noticed me. "What the hell happened?"

He sat beside me. "Ari, can you hear me?"

_Barely_. I thought.

"Get Mom, and get the car, now!" Sam ordered.

Leah ran out of the room.

"Ari, please say something." Sam whispered.

When I didn't reply, I felt something wet fall onto my shoulder.

_No! _I thought. _No, he can't be crying._

Seth walked in and put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "We need to do something."

Sam sobbed.

Caleb lifted him off the ground and Seth picked me up.

During the ride to the hospital, I was drifting in and out of consciousness. Sam held me in his lap, still crying.

The last thing I remember before totally blacking out was being taken into the emergency room and placed on a hospital bed.

(SAM'S POV)

I paced around the hospital waiting room with tears streaming down my face.

"Sam, stop." Leah stepped in front of me. "You need to calm down. You're freaking everyone out."

She guided me to a chair and I sat down, face in my hands.

Leah rested her head on my shoulder, "I know you're scared, Sammy. But she'll be okay. She's strong. Just remember that, okay?"

I nodded and wiped my face. "Thanks, Leah."

Aribella would be okay.

She had to be okay.

~!Author'sNote!~ Super short chapter, I know. Sorry. I felt like leaving you with another cliffie. haha. Carlin's working on the next chapter already so we'll have that up for you guys tomorrow. Until then, enjoy and review please! xoxo, Aly.


	24. How Much Do I Weigh?

"How long has she been out?" A voice asked.

"Two days." Sam whispered.

I heard a small gasp.

I wanted to open my eyes but my eyelids felt like lead.

Instead, I squeezed the hand that was holding mine.

"Ari?" Sam asked. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah." I managed as I tried to force my eyes open.

Sam was hovering over me, worry written all over his face.

"Thank god." He muttered and kissed my forehead.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"You were starving yourself, Ari. You were starving yourself for days, and you ran nearly 10 miles on that damned treadmill, and you passed out." Sam explained. "And we found out what your real weight is."

"What is it?" I asked.

"91 pounds." Lou said, he had been the other voice.

Wow. I wanted to smile so bad, I was so proud.

I bit my lip. "And that's bad?"

"God dammit. Yes, Ari. That's bad, that's really bad." Sam nearly yelled.

I cringed. "Sam, calm down."

"I'm sorry. I was just scared. I thought I was going to lose you." He said, it was obvious he had been crying before.

"I'm sorry." I whispered and he hugged me.

"Don't be." He kissed me.

"Lou, can we have a minute, please?" I asked.

He nodded and walked out of the room.

"Sam, I know I messed up, okay. I know I need to stop this, but I really can't." I said. "It's not like I can just start eating again."

"But you have to try." He said.

I nodded. "I know. And you'll have to help me. You'll have to be patient. I'll mess up a lot, but you can't get mad at me."

"I can never get mad at you, you know that." He whispered.

"I love you." I said.

Sam smiled. "I love you too."

"Will you lay with me for a while?" I asked.

He laid down on the hospital bed beside me and I curled up next to him.

Exhaustion hit and I was out in a matter of seconds.

(Sam's POV)

Ari was sleeping on my shoulder when Lucas walked back in.

"I'm gonna head home for the night." He said and I looked at the clock. It was already midnight.

"Oh, alright. I'm going to stay here tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." I said.

Lou nodded. "Text me or call me if anything happens."

I nodded. "Of course."

He left and I ran my fingers through Ari's hair.

I whispered softly, "You don't have to starve yourself, babe. You're so beautiful. You don't have to do this."

I knew she couldn't hear me, but I didn't care. It needed said.

"I love you so much." I murmered and tucked her closer into my chest.

"So much." I said before falling asleep beneath her.

~!Author'sNote!~ Hope y'all liked my chapter. Please review. Love, Carlin.


	25. The Trip Begins

(Ari's POV)

"Ari." Sam said. "Wake up, Ari."

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "Good morning."

"You get to come home today." Sam grinned.

"Really?" I smiled.

He nodded. "Yep. Mom's signing the papers now. As soon as you're ready, we can go."

"Are we still going to California?" I asked.

He nodded. "Of course."

I threw my legs over the side of the bed and hopped down, I swayed and Sam caught my waist. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, my legs aren't used to walking again. Also, I do not have clothes."

Sam lifted a bag out of the chair in the corner, "Leah picked out some clothes for you."

"Oh, remind me to thank her." I said and took the bag into the bathroom.

I pulled the clothes out of the bag and slipped them on. Leah had picked some simple clothes, black skinnies, a purple All Time Low t-shirt, my converse, and Sam's varsity jacket.

I twisted my hair back into a ponytail and walked back into the room.

Jill was waiting with Sam.

"Hey, honey." She said and gave me a hug.

"Hi, Mom." I whispered, surprising myself.

She smiled and whispered, too low for Sam to hear, "Welcome to the family."

"Thanks." I said.

"So, I'll go get the car, and meet you kids down there. Alright?" Jill, I mean, Mom said.

Sam and I nodded and she ran off.

"I'm really happy you're okay." Sam whispered.

I nodded. "Me too."

He kissed my cheek and walked me to the elevator.

When we got outside, the December air was absolutely freezing.

I wanted to run back inside but Sam guided me to the car.

I climbed in the backseat next to Seth and Mom cranked the heat.

"It's so cold." I shivered.

"I'm a very warm individual." Seth said and held an arm out.

I slid over next to him and he held onto me.

"Thanks, Biebs." I laughed.

"Will you please stop calling me Bieber?" He laughed.

"As soon as you stop looking like him." I said and ruffled his hair.

"Mom, do I really look like Bieber?" Seth asked.

Mom smiled sarcastically. "No, honey. Not at all."

Sam and I burst out laughed.

Seth crossed his arms. "I no longer offer you my warmth."

"I'm sorry!" I said. "I'm so sorry. You don't look like Bieber. You look like Seth Miller."

"Thank you." Seth laughed and unfolded his arms.

"Warm." I muttered and snuggled up next to him.

I fell asleep on the ride home and when I woke up, I was in Sam's bed.

I sat up and looked around, Sam wasn't in here.

I climbed out of bed and walked into mine and Leah's room, she was zipping up my suitcases and pulled them to the door.

"Oh, you're up." She smiled and hugged me. "Thank god, you're okay."

I pulled out of the hug. "So, uh, what are you doing?"

"I finished packing your stuff for California. I thought I might as well help out a little bit." She said.

"Thank you, Leah. Seriously. Thank you so much." I said, there was no way I would've had the energy to do it.

"Well, you might wanna hurry up and shower and change, we leave in 30 minutes." Leah said.

I ran to the bathroom and took a quick shower, and by quick I mean I somehow managed to get in, clean myself, and get out in four minutes.

Then I straightened my hair, pulled on hot pink skinny jeans, a black Paradise Fears t-shirt (the girlfriends always wear the band's merch. It was like the unspoken rule.), my black Osirises, and Sam's varsity jacket like always.

My make-up was simple, black eyeliner and mascara, pink eyeshadow, and clear lipgloss.

"I'm ready!" I shouted as I ran back into mine and Leah's room.

Sam was sitting on the floor talking to her as she tied her hair in a ponytail.

"Your fly is down." She said.

I looked down, sure enough, in my rush, I'd forgotten to zip my jeans. "Fuck my goddamn life."

I zipped them and sighed.

"So, what exactly is the plan? Like, what do we do when we get to California?" I asked.

"Well, Mom and Dad usually go out to dinner together, and we all go to the beach." Sam explained.

"I didn't pack any bikinis." I said.

"Dont' fret!" Leah laughed. "I packed a bunch of them for you."

I sighed in relief. "I love you."

"I know." She smiled. "And they're all pretty hot. You're going to have tons of hot Cali guys staring at you."

"Great." Sam groaned. "Competition."

I laughed and sat down beside him. "Don't worry. They're no competition. I just want you."

Sam smiled and kissed me.

"Guys, not in here!" Leah threw a pillow at us.

I laughed. "Sorry. Forgot you were here."

"Oh, thanks so much!" She smirked.

I blushed.

A few seconds later, Mom yelled. "Load up, guys! We gotta go!"

I jumped up and grabbed my bags.

We ran downstairs and piled our bags into the back of the van and then claimed our seats.

I sat in the captain seat with Sam beside me and Leah and Seth behind us.

Dad drove, Jill sat passanger, and Caleb laid down in the very back.

I pulled my iPod out and put in my headphones, blasting All Time Low before I fell asleep again.

I dreamt of California; beautiful beaches, cute guys, amazing places to shop, so many different things. And I wanted to do all of them with Sam.

~!Author'sNote!~ We worked on this one together. We hope you liked it! Give us reviews, sexy bitches. Love, Aly and Carlin.


	26. The Beach

"This is the life, Aribella." Leah sighed.

I grinned. "I know right. This is freaking perfect."

We smiled and leaned back in our beach chairs.

It was our fourth day in California, and yet another day spent on the beach.

Sam, Leah, and I lounged in beach chairs while Seth and Caleb attempted to surf.

Sam and I held hands while Leah examined all of the cute guys and hit on at least 40% of them.

"Leah. Cute guy, tan, buff, blond, tattoos, 3 o'clock." I muttered and pushed my sunglasses on top of my head.

Leah slowly looked over. "Oh my god. I'm in heaven. That boy is yummy."

"Yummiest we've seen here." I nodded. "Go talk to him."

Leah shook her head. "Oh, no. I would freak out. He's just too hot."

She tightened the halter on her sunshine yellow bikini and looked out at the waves that Seth and Caleb were riding.

"Fine." I said and stood up, fixing the halter on my own, neon pink, bikini. "I'll go talk to him."

Sam grabbed my arm. "No, no. Not like that."

"What?" I asked.

"You look sexy. You can't just walk up to that guy like that." He said.

I sighed and slipped on my slouchy, Jawbreaking brand tank top. "Better?"

Sam nodded and I started walking over to the guy.

"Hi, I'm Aribella." I said and held my hand out to him.

He smiled and shook it. "Landon."

"Well, Landon, my friend over there," I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder and he looked at Leah. "She could totally go for a guy like you."

"Really?" He grinned.

I nodded. "Totally."

"What's her name?" He asked.

"Her name's Leah." I said.

"What about the guy next to her? Who's he?" Landon asked.

"That's her brother, and my boyfriend, Sam." I explained.

He nodded. "Okay. So, should I talk to her now?"

I nodded. "Of course you should."

I grabbed his wrist and pulled him over.

"Leah, this is Landon. Landon, this is Leah." I introduced them and took my seat.

Sam leaned over and whispered. "I don't like him."

"The only reason you don't like him is because he's hitting on your sister." I whispered back.

"That's the only reason I need to not like him."

I shook my head and discreetly listened to Landon and Leah flirting.

They made plans for dinner tonight, Landon said he needed to get back to his friends, they said goodbye, Landon walked away.

The Leah spaz attack would being in 3... 2... 1...

"Oh. My. Jesus." She gasped. "He's so awesome. He's cute, and he seems sweet, and he's funny. And oh my god!"

I laughed. "Leah, deep breath."

Sam sighed. "I don't like him."

I pulled my tank top off and threw it at him. "Just give the kid a chance."

"Did you even ask him how old he was?" Sam asked.

"Oh, I guess not." I said

I looked over at his group. "Yo, Landon!"

He jogged over and smiled at us. "What's up?"

"Just curious, how old are you?" I asked.

"17." He said.

"Oh, alright. Cool." I said. "Thanks, dude."

He nodded and jogged back to his group.

"See!" I said to Sam. "He's only 17."

"Leah, you're only 15." Sam said.

"What's your point?" Leah asked.

Sam sighed. "17, Leah. He has his liscense, and a car. He can drive. You know what happens in cars!"

"Sammy, I'm not going to lose my virginity in Camry." Leah giggled.

"Why? I did." I said and clamped my hand over my mouth. "Sorry, TMI."

"Was it really a Camry?" Leah asked.

I nodded. "They have roomy backseats, yo."

Sam groaned. "Aribella, you're encouraging her."

"Sorry. Don't do it, Leah. Wait till marriage." I said.

Leah snorted. "Yeah, right."

Sam shook his head. "I don't really care if you lose your virginity, Leah. Just use protection, I already know you're on the pill. But use a condom, and don't do it with some douchebag."

"I won't, Sammy. Pinky swear." Leah held out her little finger.

Sam shook it. "Good."

We finally sat back and fell into a comfortable silence.

I was just relaxing in my chair again when someone dumped water on my legs.

I sat up and tore my sunglasses off.

"Seth! You dick!" I gasped.

"Why are you wearing a bathing suit if you're not gonna get wet?" He asked.

"Because I'm a girl!" I said. "And you got my towel all wet!"

"Oops." He shrugged.

I hopped up and slapped him on the chest a few times.

"Ow. Ari. Stop." He pushed me back.

I slapped him one more time. "Douche."

I turned around to walk back to my chair when Seth's hands caught my waist and picked me up.

"Seth, don't you dare." I warned when he started pulling me towards the water.

He started running and I squealed. "Seth, no! Stop!"

Everyone within fifty feet heard my squeal and watched as Seth jumped into the water, pulling me under with him.

I resurfaced at the same time as Seth and he was laughing.

I glared at him and burst out laughing. "That was fun."

He grinned and I pushed my wet hair out my face and we walked back up onto the beach where people were laughing at us.

I sat down on the edge of my chair and wrapped my towel around my shoulders.

Seth sat down next to me and I shared my towel.

A random girl who looked like she was about 20 walked up to Seth and I and smiled. "I just wanna say, you two make the cutest couple. Really, you guys are adorable together."

"Oh, we're not dating." I laughed. "Seth is my friend."

"Sure." The girl nodded and winked at Sam.

"Woah, woah, woah. Now that's my boyfriend!" I said.

She snorted. "Honey, you're too young for him."

"We're the same fucking age!" I said.

"You're the size of a 12 year old." She snorted again.

I rolled my eyes. "Fuck off."

"Honey, just except the fact that he doesn't want you." She said.

I stood up, "Really, bitch?"

"Really." She nodded sarcastically.

Sam and Seth started pulling me away from the girl.

"And how the fuck would you know?" I asked.

"It's just obvious!" She rolled her eyes, as if it were really obvious.

I smirked and kissed Sam roughly.

His hands tightened on my hips and he bit my lip.

I pulled away and turned back to the girl. "Yeah, he didn't want that."

She flipped her hair and flipped me off as she strutted away.

I laughed. "Wow. I never knew someone could be crazier than Violet."

~!Author'sNote!~ This was a slightly pointless chapter. It was just a lot of random events that we threw in. I hope it doesn't seem too hectic and I really hope you like it. Carlin wrote the majority of it and then I added to it and we agreed on some things to take out. But, yeah, review please! It means a lot. xoxo, Aly.


	27. Beach Date

"Yeah, Mom. We're just gonna go to the beach and swim." I said as I pulled my bag onto my shoulder.

She looked at the clock. "At 7 p.m.?"

"We'll be careful." Leah promised.

Mom sighed. "Be home by midnight."

"We will." I said as I pulled Sam and Leah out the door of the hotel room.

It was a total lie. Sam and I would be going to the beach, Leah, however, was going out to dinner with Landon.

We sprinted to the elevator and when we got down to the lobby, Landon was waiting for Leah.

He walked over to greet us.

"Hi, Landon!" Leah grinned.

He smiled. "Hey, Leah."

"Hey, bro." I nodded.

Within such a short amount of time, Landon and I had become bros, which is weird considered that I have a vagina.

"Sup." He fist-bumped me.

"Landon." Sam nodded once.

"Sam." Landon nodded back.

Leah and I rolled our eyes. Boys.

"Let's go, Sam." I pulled him outside and waved to Leah.

"If she gets pregnant..."He said.

"Calm down, I slipped some condoms in her bag. And she's on the pill remember. It'll be fine." I said and we got in the car.

We drove out to a private spot on the beach that we'd discovered earlier that day.

We spread out a blanket and sat down, staring out at the setting sun.

Sam wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder, I rested my head against his.

"I like this a lot." He whispered.

"Me too." I whispered back.

I wanted to stay like this forever. I didn't want to leave this moment.

"I love you." I said and turned to face Sam. "I really love you."

"I love you too." Sam leaned his forehead against mine and stared at my lips.

I kissed him softly.

"Oh my gosh! It's you again!" A voice called.

I froze, it was the girl from earlier. The one I nearly threw down with...

I stood up and found her, standing about 15 feet away, arms crossed, chin raised, obviously trying to appear tough.

I cocked my hips and stared her down. "Can I help you, bitch?"

"My name isn't bitch. It's Missy." She scoffed.

"Can I help you, bitch?" I repeated.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice you again. With a slut suit like that, it's hard not to notice."

I looked down at my bathing suit, it was really small, sparkly gold, and leopard print. Basically, if Ke$ha were to buy a bikini, this would be the one she would pick.

"Well, honesy, Missy," I sneered. "I could really care less what you think. I like it, that's all that matters."

"I like it too!" Sam piped up.

"Anyways, what exactly do you have against me?" I asked.

Missy sighed. "Because, throughout the entire day, I saw one cute guy at the beach, one! And you're dating him."

"You're jealous?" I screeched. "Are you fucking serious? You're being a fucking stalker because you're jealous?"

"Fuck you." She said.

I laughed. "You know what? Fuck you, bitch. You're a fucking psycho."

"You're the one dressed like a hooker."

"It's a beach! Would you prefer I wore a turtleneck fucking sweater?" I said.

Missy started walking away. "Oh no, bitch. Get back here." I ran after her.

Sam caught my wrist. "Ignore her. This is pointless."

"She's a fucking psycho." I said. "Seriously! That bitch thinks she can fucking stalk us just because she wants to fuck you? Hell fucking no!"

"Ari." Sam grabbed my face and forced me to meet his eyes. "Calm down."

I took a deep breath. "This was supposed to be a good night, just you and me."

"And it will be. She's gone, alright?" Sam whispered.

I nodded and took another deep breath. "I'm okay. I'm fine."

"Okay. Good." Sam grinned and started pulling me towards the water.

"Oh, no. I'm being forced against my will again!" I squealed when he pulled me into the cold water.

The water wasn't as bad this time, I was expecting it. But still, it was really cold.

I resurfaced and looked around. Sam was no where to be found.

"Sam?" I called out, no answer.

I panicked a little bit. "Sam?"

A hand grabbed my ankle and pulled me underwater.

I turned around, forcing myself to keep my eyes open despite the sting of the salt water, Sam was grinning behind me.

I smiled and he grabbed my waist, pulling my body against his.

He pressed his lips to mine and I threw my arms around his neck.

This was my first underwater kiss, and it was freaking adorable.

After a minute we ran out of air and swam to the surface.

I smiled at Sam. "This was the most perfect date ever."

"You think so?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I mean, take Missy out of the equation and it was the most romantic thing ever."

Sam pulled me up onto the beach and we laid down together.

"I love you." Sam whispered and kissed my neck.

"I love you too." I muttered.

Sam untied the string on my bikini and all my stress and anger melted away.

Right now, it was just me and Sam.

~!Author'sNote!~ Spicy. lol. But seriously guys, we love you for reading this. And thank you so much for the awesome reviews. Keep them coming! Love, Aly and Carlin.


	28. Broken Noses And Black Eyes

"Don't tell Leah what we did." Sam said as I tied my bikini top and pulled my cover-up on.

"I didn't plan on it. Your sister doesn't need to know about us having sex in a public place. Or having sex at all, for that matter." I laughed.

Sam smiled and pulled me back to the car.

We got in and drove back to the hotel and Leah was sitting outside waiting for us.

"Hey, Leah!" I waved when we got out of the car.

"Hi." She muttered and wiped her cheeks.

"Oh my god, what's wrong?" I asked and ran forward.

She sniffled and choked out, "Landon ditched me halfway through the date."

"What?" I nearly yelled.

Leah nodded and I sat down beside her. "He went to go hang out with another girl."

"How'd you get back here?" I asked.

"I called a cab." She said and Sam hugged her tightly.

I frowned. "Do you know where he went?"

She shook her head.

I bit my lip, this guy hurt my best friend, therefore, I was going to hurt him.

I remember the way he looked at me at the beach. He was a pig. It all made sense now.

"You didn't delete Landon's number yet, did you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, why?"

"I have an idea." I grinned and she gave me the number.

I dialed the phone and Landon picked up after two rings. "Hello?"

"Hi, Landon! It's Aribella. From the beach." I said, sounding cheerful.

"Is this about Leah? I didn't do anything with her!" He said immediately.

Leah mouthed _What are you doing?_

I winked.

"Landon, baby. Honestly, this has _nothing _to do with Leah." I said seductively. "I wanted you from the beginning."

"Really?" He breathed.

I nearly laughed, ready to accept my Academy Award for best actress. "Yeah, Landon. I really want you, right now."

"Where can we meet?" He asked.

I smirked. "At the beach, where we met."

"I'll be there in ten." He said.

"I'll be waiting." I whispered and hung up.

Leah stared. "What are you thinking?"

"You'll see." I said and we got in the car.

When we got back to the beach, I tore off my cover up and ran to the spot I'd told Landon to meet me at.

Sam and Leah sat in the car, observing.

"Aribella?" Landon called and I turned toward him.

I bit my lip and smiled, "Hey."

He ran towards me and pulled me close. "You are so sexy right now."

"I know." I smirked.

"So, um. Did you call me here for what I think you did?" He asked and leaned in, his face inches from mine.

"Oh yeah." I whispered, trying to hide my laugh.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked.

I pushed him down on the sand and sat on his stomach.

I leaned in like I was going to kiss him and he shut his eyes.

I pulled back and punched him square in the jaw.

Landon's eyes flew opened and he held his jaw. "What the fuck?"

I pushed his hand out of the way and punched him two more times.

He tried pushing me off but I kept throwing punch after punch.

One connected with his nose which made a very satisfying crunch and immediately began gushing blood.

Finally, I stood up, wiping his blood off of my knuckles.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, holding his face.

"That was for Leah." I walked away and climbed back into the car.

"That was hot." Sam smiled.

I blushed. "I try."

"Thank you!" Leah hugged me tightly. "Thank you!"

I grinned. "You're welcome, Leah. He was a jerk, and jerks deserve broken noses and black eyes."

"This is why you're a badass." Leah laughed when Sam started the car.

"I'm not a badass. I just don't put up with bullshit." I shrugged.

"So, what did you guys do?" Leah asked.

"We went swimming." Sam and I chorused.

Leah smirked. "Sure you did."

When we got back to the hotel it was 11:55, we were back just in time.

We got back to the suite and Mom was waiting up for us.

"Did you guys have a good time?" She asked.

We all nodded and Mom went to bed.

We sat down on the sofa and turned on a movie.

I didn't even see the opening credits before I passed out.

(Sam's POV)

"Cole, I don't know, man. She still seems pretty, how can I put this?" I said into the phone.

"Hungry?" Cole said.

"Not funny." I said.

"I didn't mean it to be funny. I'm just saying, she's still hungry, she's still starving herself." He explained.

I sighed. "I don't know why she does it."

"Because you're not a girl. Only girls understand why girls do things, and even then it's only a rough idea." He said.

I chuckled. "True."

"Just give her some time, okay. She got out of the hospital five days ago. Something like isn't going to just go away. It's gonna take a lot of work for her to get better."

I nodded. "You're right. I can't expect her to recover overnight."

"Exactly. So, just go to bed for now, Sam. Get some rest. Enjoy your vacation with her." Cole encouraged.

"Thanks, man." I said.

"Get some sleep, kid." He said.

"You too."

We hung up and I flopped backwards onto the hotel bed.

I would fix Aribella. I would do whatever it took to fix her, because I could not lose her.

~!AUthor'sNote!~ This is a longer one, sorta. So I'm pretty happy with this. It's another random one. Review, lovers. Love, Carlin.


	29. Nightmare

"Sam, I'm tired." I yawned and rolled away when he tried to kiss me. "Just go to sleep."

He held my waist. "It's not even midnight."

"Go to sleep." I yawned again.

"Let me hold you." He whispered.

I gave in and Sam pulled me against his side.

"If I had the energy, I would slap you right now." I giggled.

"I guess it's a good thing that you don't have energy then." Sam smiled and kissed my forehead.

I curled up and snuggled into his chest.

"Do you want me to sing to you?" Sam asked.

I smiled. "Yes, please."

He sang softly in my ear, "_This is all that I need. Eyes closed, you're all that I see. I find it hard to believe, I've got the whole world lying next to me. Then you pull me in close and you take me away. You found a feeling and it shows, that this is more than a place. Because wherever we go, you know I'm here to stay. Don't break me down. This is all that I need. I fall, so effortlessly. I find it hard to believe, when I wake up, you'll still be next to me_."

"Thank you." I whispered as my eyelids fell shut.

_"Let's go for a ride!" Sam said and started pulling me out of the house and into the car._

_"Okay, I'm coming. Calm down!" I giggled and followed him._

_We got in the car and Sam pulled out of the driveway and sped off down the road._

_"Where are we going?" I asked._

_"Wherever." Sam shrugged._

_I smiled and we cranked the radio._

_It was three a.m. and we were just speeding down the road, blasting the local pop station, singing along, and laughing. We were just having fun, being reckless._

_We were singing along to "Call Me Maybe" when we hit a really rough bump and I hit my head on the roof of the car._

_I burst out laughing and held my head. "Ow. Hahaha!"_

_Sam smiled. "Hey, you wanna go to Minneapolis?"_

_"What?" I asked._

_"Let's go to Minneapolis!" _

_"Why?"_

_"Why not?" Sam countered._

_"Fair enough." I laughed. "Um, let's go then!"_

_Sam sped up and the needle on the spedometer edged towards 85._

_We were just about to cross the state line when a truck going the opposite direction veered into the our lane._

_"Sam." I gasped._

_He swerved, trying to avoid the truck._

_But it hit us head on._

_The airbags didn't deploy._

_Sam flew headfirst through the windshield and I started screaming._

"Aribella! Ari! Wake up!" Someone yelled and shook my shoulders.

I sat straight up, still screaming.

"Ari. Ari, calm down!" Sam said.

My screaming stopped and I threw myself at him.

I started sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

"It's okay, baby. It's alright. It was just a dream. It was just a bad dream." Sam whispered.

I clung to him and said, "It was so real. I was so scared."

"What happened? Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

I sobbed again. "The car... Too fast... Airbags... Truck... You... Windshield."

I was unable to form any full sentences but Sam got what I was trying to say.

"It's okay, baby. I'm here. It didn't happen. It didn't really happen." Sam whispered softly. "Everything's alright."

I looked up at him. "It was so real. I thought you were gone."

He kissed my forehead and whispered, "I'm still here. And I'm not going anywhere."

~!Author'sNote!~ Not much of a chapter, I know. But, I tried. I hope you liked it. Better chapters coming soon, pinkie swear! Review, pretty please! xoxo, Aly.


	30. Another Author's Note Please Read

Hi, guys. It's another author's note. Sorry about all of these.

But, I'm currently having writer's block really really bad again. The sad thing is, Carlin's on vaca and can't help me out this time.

The next chapter will take a while, and I'm sorry. If anyone has any ideas, tell me, please!

But, then again, Carlin and I could always use another co-writer so let me know if you're interested in that.

Thanks for reading, guys.

Review or send me a message or something if you have ideas or want to co-write!

Also, we're only accepting one new co-writer, and it's obviously going to be a first come, first serve kind of thing, if that makes sense.

Love always,

Alyson.


	31. The Boy At The Mall

"Home." I smiled and climbed onto my bunk bed. "Bed!"

Leah fell onto her bunk, we were exhausted.

It was 7 p.m. but we were tired as hell.

Seth, however was not. He came barging into our room. "Guys, get up!"

"Ugh." I groaned in response.

"Let's do fun things." He ordered.

"Ugh." I groaned again.

Seth sighed. "Please?"

I sat up and stared, and leaned over to look at Leah. "Did Seth Miller just say please?"

Leah stared at him. "Hell has frozen over."

We laughed and Seth rolled his eyes. "Come on, guys. Please?"

I nodded and changed into some skinny jeans, my signed All Time Low t-shirt, and Sam's varsity jacket.

Leah pulled on a hoodie and we walked out the door with Seth.

He tossed me his car keys. "I'll even let you drive."

"You're letting me drive your baby?" I asked.

He nodded.

I hugged him. "You are a wonderful human."

He laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't kill her."

"I won't!" I promised as I got into the driver's seat of the blood red Camaro.

Leah got in the back, and Seth sat shotgun.

We put on our seatbelts and I started the car.

The roar of the engine was soothing. "Oh my god, I love that sound."

"So, where are we going?" Leah asked.

I turned to Seth. "Yeah, where are we going?"

"Mall?" He asked.

"What mall? We have no mall in Vermillion!" I said.

"Yankton?" He offered.

"Ooh, they have Hot Topic! Let's go!" Leah said.

I laughed and we began the hour long drive to the mall.

When we got there, the parking lot was nearly empty. "Yay. No people!"

"Do you not like people?" Seth asked.

"It's not that I don't like peoplel. It's just that stores in this place are really small, and when there's like 40 people in one store, it gets cramped and awkward, and one time, I got touched in a bad place. It was accident, but still, I was scarred for life." I explained.

Seth shook his head and we got out of the car.

We walked inside and I heard a girl yell, "Seth!"

She came running over at full speed.

She was a bit shorter than me, probably 5' 2". Her hair was brown, for the most part. But her bangs were dyed hot pink and the entire bottom layer or her hair was purple. It was insane, but it worked, and I liked it. Her eyes were deep brown and she wore thick-ish, black framed glasses.

"Hey, Copeland!" Seth said, semi-awkwardly.

Copeland threw her arms around Seth's neck and hugged him tightly. She kissed him on the lips and smiled.

What the hell was going on? Who was this chick?

I looked at Leah, she was just as confused as me.

"Hi! You must Seth's sisters!" Copeland said.

"I am, yes. And we consider Ari to be a sister." Leah explained.

"Well, who are you really?" Copeland asked me.

"I'm Sam's girlfriend. I'm just really close to everyone." I said.

She smiled. "That's so cool. Oh, wait, Aribella? Seth told me so much about you!"

I smiled awkwardly. "I'm sure he did."

"Well, I have to head home. Bye, guys!" Copeland gave Seth another kiss and skipped off.

"Who? Why? What the fuck?" I said.

Seth sighed. "That's, uh, that's Copeland. She's on my debate team."

"Wow, your debate team is super friendly with each other." I said.

He ran a hand through his hair. "She's my girlfriend."

"Why didn't we know? Why'd you keep her a secret? Does she have another boyfriend? Do you have another girlfriend?" I gasped. "Oh my god, Seth, you have a mistress!"

"Would you shut up?" He said.

"Sorry." I said. "But seriously, yo. Why couldn't we meet her?"

Seth smirked. "Because she's normal! I have this crazy ass family, and a sister who isn't technically my sister that overuses the word 'yo,' that's you, by the way. Then you have Sam, and Sam is well, Sam, and we all know how that goes. Then Caleb's shy and awkward but for some reason can never shut his mouth. And Leah, you're kind of normal, I guess, but Ari's rubbing off on you. Dad's always working so I don't have to worry about him so much. And mom is weird, I love her, but she's strange."

I nodded. "Okay, that all makes sense. Do you really think I say yo too much? I mean, I really like that word."

"You do say it a lot." Leah nodded.

"It's not bad though, is it?" I asked.

"A little bit, sometimes." She said.

I sighed. "Okay. I can accept that. Just warn her about us, and then you can formally introduce us."

Seth nodded. "That was the plan."

"Okay. So, how long have you known her?" I asked.

He shrugged. "A couple of months."

"How long have you been seeing her?"

"A couple of months." He muttered.

I gasped. "Woah, woah. Hold up, bro! What about Massi? You had a thing for her, didn't you?"

Seth laughed. "Oh, yeah, no. She fucked some dude named Nick."

I frowned. "Hooker."

Seth just laughed and looked over my shoulder.

His face fell and he looked... shocked? Confused?

"What?" I asked and turned around.

It was guy and girl, kissing.

The guy was... No. It couldn't be.

It was Sam.

~!Author'sNote!~ Boom! Cliffie! Haha! I'm so mean. lolol. Review, pretty please. xoxo, Aly.


	32. Get To You

(Two months later- Ari's POV)

My cell phone started ringing and I dove across the bed to grab it, hoping and praying that it would be Sam.

It wasn't. It was just a twitter update from Becca.

Why would it be Sam? He didn't care anymore.

We hadn't spoken in months. Why would he suddenly change his mind and call me?

I tossed my phone down and sat on the bed. "Too much of anything is too much."

I smirked, was I really quoting All Time Low songs now?

Wait, light bulb. Inspiration!

I picked up my guitar, a notebook, and a pencil.

I scribbled down "We had so much, too much love. To ever think of running out. Summer air was intoxicating."

I dropped my pencil and picked up a guitar pick, I start strumming and singing along.

"Summer air was intoxicating... Filled my lungs but I can't stop breathing." I wrote down the next line.

I flashed back to that night.

The night of the break-up. I'd gone to the mall with Seth and Leah. We'd found out about Seth's secret lover, Copeland.

Then we saw Sam, kissing another girl.

I yelled at him, of course. The girl, whose name I still did not know, left. And Sam had to ride home with us.

I started writing again. The lyrics flowing out seamlessly.

When I finished, I picked up my guitar pick and started strumming again.

"_We had so much time,  
Too much love to ever think of running out.  
Summer air was intoxicating,  
Filled my lungs but I can stop breathing.  
I had to take you home that night,  
Divide the space between our minds.  
And find a cure for a heart that's failing,  
I'm losing sleep but I can't stop dreaming._

_I miss the time when I used to know just,  
Just how it feels to be in over my head.  
When I would do anything for your love,  
When we could be anything we wanted.  
What I'd give, to touch your skin,  
And beg your heart to feel the way it felt back then.  
So let me in._

_Now I'm caving in, wearing thin.  
Sick of always fading out.  
Got my hands in my pockets, baby.  
I try to hide it, but inside I'm shaking.  
When you're gone, my heart is too.  
Masquerading memories of you.  
Can't pretend your words don't faze me.  
Can't pretend that you don't amaze, me._

_I miss the time when I used to know just,  
Just how it feels to be in over my head.  
When I would do anything for your love.  
When we could be anything we wanted.  
What I'd give, to touch your skin,  
And beg your heart to feel the way it felt back then.  
So let me in._

_And I'll stay,  
Perputually in this state.  
When your voice is out of reach  
And you've got me fighting the seas.  
But there's just too much ocean between._

_I miss the time when I used to know just,  
Just how it feels to be in over my head.  
When I would do anything for your love,  
When we could be anything we wanted.  
What I'd give, to touch your skin,  
And bed your heart to feel the way it felt back then.  
So let me, so let me, so let me in._

_I can't get to you.  
So let me in.  
I can't get to you.  
So let me in.  
I can't get to you.  
So let me in.  
I can't get to you."_

By the time I finished the song, tears were flowing endlessly.

I laid back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I was actually back in my bed now, at my mom's house. I missed mine and Leah's bunk bed.

But I couldn't stay in that house with Sam. There was no way in hell.

Someone knocked on my bedroom and I shoved my songbook under my pillow. "Come in."

Seth walked in. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Checking on you." He said. "You haven't talk to anyone in weeks."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, there's a reason for that."

"Sam's been trying to call you every day." Seth explained. "He didn't kiss that girl."

"Really? Because I know what I saw!" I yelled.

"She kissed him, Aribella. He pushed her away, you would've seen that if you hadn't ran out. Sam would've explained it if you hadn't yelled at him, if you had actually given him a chance to talk." Seth said.

I shook my head. "Go home."

"Come with me. Please. Come talk to Sam."

I shook my head and strummed my guitar absently.

"You wrote a song." Seth stated.

I nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Will you show me?" He asked.

I nodded and played the song.

"It's amazing, Ari. It's beautiful." He said.

"Thanks. I call it Get To You."

We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Seth, can I tell you something?" I asked.

He nodded. "Of course, you're like my sister, you can tell me anything."

"I still love Sam. I mean, I don't want to. But I just can't help it. He's everything to me." I said.

Seth hugged me. "He still loves you too."

I suppressed a sob. "What should I do?"

"Talk to him." Seth said. "Just talk to him."

I nodded. "Okay."

Seth pulled me outside to his car.

When we pulled into the driveway Seth turned to me. "Ready?"

I nodded and marched up the driveway, through the frontdoor, and into Sam's bedroom.

~!Author'sNote!~ Teehee, another cliffie. What's gonna happen next? haha. Review, my babies. I love you all! xoxo, Aly.


	33. Let Me Talk

~!Author'sNote!~ Okay, so I want to start this out with a thank you. For all of you, you're amazing readers and I love you so so much. But, I wanna give a special shout out to Megan who reviewed like nine times and read the entire story in one day, you're a wonderful human, Megan. So, enjoy the chapter! Reivew! :) xoxo, Aly

"Ari." Sam breathed and jumped off the bed.

"Stop." I ordered. "Let me talk."

He nodded.

"I'm sorry. I over-reacted and didn't give you a chance to say anything. Seth told me what happened. I just want to know who she is and why you were with her." I said.

"I didn't really know her. I got a text from Cole, saying he was at the mall and that we should hang for a while. I went up there but I couldn't find him. This girl came up to me and told me that she was a fan of Paradise Fears and I had been talking to her for a while. She had been telling me that our music had helped her through a tough time in her life and I gave her a hug. Out of nowhere, she started kissing me. And I pushed her away and told her that I had a girlfriend that I loved more than anything else in the world." Sam explained.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as tears started flowing. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Sam pulled me into his arms and I sobbed into his chest. "I just, I thought that you might be seeing her behind my back and I felt betrayed and I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. You didn't know." He whispered.

"I should've listened to you and Seth and Leah. I'm sorry."

I threw my arms around his neck and held him close.

"Listen, Ari. It's not your fault. You were upset, you had every right to be. You don't have to keep apologizing." Sam whispered.

He wiped the tears from my cheeks and kissed my forehead.

"I wrote a song." I admitted.

"Really?" He asked, looking surprised.

I nodded. "I let Seth hear it before he kidnapped me and brought me here."

"Can I hear it?" He asked.

I bit my lip.

"Please?"

I sighed but nodded and Sam sat be down on the bed and handed me his guitar.

I played Get To You, trying my hardest not to cry.

When I finished, I placed the guitar back on its stand and forced myself to meet Sam's eyes.

"I'm so sorry." Sam pulled me into his arms. "I'm so, so sorry. I can't believe I made you feel that bad. I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault. It was that bitch that kissed you. Who the fuck was she anyways?"

"Sabrina Cruz." Sam said.

"Wait, isn't she like, two years younger than us? The one who hooked up with at least half of the JV football team?" I asked.

Sam nodded. "I think that's what I heard."

I shook my head. "This bitch is going down."

I knocked on the door to Leah's room and she opened it.

"Hi!" She gave me a quick hug.

"I need your help." I said.

"With what?" She asked.

I just smiled. "I need you to help me find out where Sabrina Cruz lives."

"Oh, she lives a block away from the school." Leah said.

"Really?" I asked.

She nodded. "Why?"

I smirked. "Oh, no reason. I just have to go curb stomp her really fast."

~!Author'sNote!~ It's short, I know, shut up. JK. I love you guys, and all of the feedback I get, whether it be positive or negative. Review, please. xoxo, Aly.


	34. Going Home

~!Author'sNote!~ You guys are fucking beasts, I love you so much. Oh my god. Seriously, four reviews on one chapter! Fucking amazing humans. Enjoy the chapter! xoxo, Aly.

"Seth!" I started banging on his bedroom door.

"What?" He opened it after a moment.

I smiled. "You wanna go with us? I'm gonna kick the shit out of Sabrina Cruz."

Seth gasped. "Ooh, sounds fun!"

I grabbed Leah and Sam and Leah grabbed Seth and we ran out to the car.

Sam drove us to Sabrina's house and I hopped out of the car.

I knocked on the front door and plastered a smile on my face.

A short, black haired girl came out.

"Hi! Sabrina?" I said.

She nodded. "I'm Sabrina. Who're you?"

"My name's Aribella. And I believe you kissed my boyfriend." I said.

"Who?" She asked.

I sneered. "Oh, right. You're too much of a skank to remember what guys you make out with. Why don't you think back to that day at the mall, the one where you kissed Sam Miller? Yeah, you remember."

She tried acting innocent. "That was your boyfriend?"

I nodded. "Don't act like you didn't know. He told you."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Who cares?"

"Me, obviously." I said.

"Like I care." She scoffed.

I got in her face. "You will when I break your neck."

She pushed my shoulders hard and I stumbled off the porch.

I grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her off the porch.

Without a second thought, I let my arm snap forward and I punched her square in the jaw.

I let go of her shirt and she fell down.

I put my knee on her chest and kept punching. Her lip was busted open, her nose was broken and gushing blood, and one eye was already starting to bruise.

Someone grabbed my shoulders and pulled me off of her.

I pushed them away and started punching again.

Seth grabbed my left arm and Sam grabbed my right and pulled me off yet again.

"Guys, let go!" I yelled.

"Ari, calm the fuck down." Seth ordered.

I looked at him. "No! I don't want to calm down, Seth!"

"Please." They both said.

I looked down at Sabrina who was holding her face in her hands, rolling around, and crying.

"Okay, let go. I'm done, guys." I said calmly.

They let go and I sat down next to Sabrina. "So, Sabrina, tell me. What did we learn today?"

"Noses break really easily." She said.

I gave a nod. "Yes. But not what I was looking for."

She sighed. "Not to kiss other people's boyfriends."

"More specifically?"

"Not to kiss your boyfriend."

"Very good!" I patted her shoulder and stood up, brushing grass from the back of my shorts. "Have a lovely trip to the hospital."

"Fuck you." Sabrina said.

"Bitch, I will hit you again." I threatened.

She shut up and I got back in the car, holding my sore hand.

I got in the backseat with Leah and examined my knuckles.

"Oh, look, I already have a bruise." I pointed to my knuckle.

Leah looked at it.

I stared at the bruise. "I'll name you Lee."

Everyone in the car looked at me, confused.

I chuckled to myself. "Bruise Lee! LOL!"

Everyone burst out laughing and I had tears rolling down my cheeks.

Sam had to pull over because he was laughing so hard.

"Guys, I'm so funny!" I yelled.

When we finally stopped laughing, Sam drove us back to his house.

Seth and Leah went inside and I climbed in the front seat.

"You know, you're more than welcome to come back and stay with us." Sam said.

I nodded.

"Will you?" He asked.

I smiled. "Of course."

Sam leaned in and kissed me.

I kissed him back passionately.

When we pulled out of the kiss, Sam smiled at me. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." I whispered.

He backed out of the driveway and drove to my house so I could get my stuff.

When we walked through the frontdoor, my mom peered at us over a nearly empty vodka bottle.

"Who's this?" She slurred.

"This is Sam. Remember, the guy whose family took me in when you turned into a complete mess and could hardly take care of yourself, let alone a teenager." I said with a condescending tone.

"Oh." She said. "Can you bring me another bottle from the fridge?"

I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen, grabbed two bottles of vodka, and walked back into the living room.

"You want these?" I asked her.

She nodded.

I threw one bottle at the wall and it shattered.

Mom gasped. "Do I at least get the other one?"

I rolled my eyes and twisted the cap off, taking a long drink before twisted the cap back on and throwing this bottle at the wall as well.

She gasped again and I ran to my bedroom.

I threw my suitcases on the bed and Sam and I started shoving clothes into them.

When they were full, we zipped them shut and hurried back out to the car.

"Where're you going?" Mom yelled before we left.

I took a deep breath and faced her. "I'm going home, Chrystal."

When I used her name, her shoulders slumped.

"This is home." She said.

I shook my head. "No. This isn't home. Home is where you have people that love and care about you. Where you actually feel welcome. Where you actually have a family."

With that, I left.

I walked out of that house without a second thought. I had to go home, and home was with Jill, David, Caleb, Leah, Seth, Joe, and Sam. Not with my mom.

When we got to Sam's house, he took my bags upstairs and I walked into the den, where Jill and David were sitting.

They smiled when they saw me.

I whispered. "Mom, Dad, I'm back."

~!Author'sNote!~ Hope you guys liked this one! I had a lot of fun writing it. So, this story is getting super long, and I'm going to list the next chapter as the first chapter of a part 2 on my profile, if that makes sense. Basically, just go to my profile and look for Fall On Me pt 2, and you'll find the rest there. I'm really glad you guys like this story, it means so much. Review, please. xoxo, Aly


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